Kingfisher Airlines case: Vijay Mallya led now-defunct luxury carrier understated losses by Rs 7,151 crore, here is why

Kingfisher Airlines case: Now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines understated losses to the extent of Rs 7,151.18 crore for financial years 2008-09 to 2011-12 by tweaking accounting practice, according to Indian Express report. This jhas been found during a probe conducted by the government’s Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into the matter, the report says. These were in violation of accounting standards, according to report. Kingfisher has done this to obtain higher bank loans. Notably, some of these loans were used to meet continuing cash losses.

The role of bank executives, directors and government officials has come under the scanner for alleged violations at the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines as multi-agency probes against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya gather steam, regulatory and banking sources said, according to PTI report on October 8. With the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) submitting a detailed report on the misdoings at Kingfisher Airlines, which went belly up in 2012, the government, regulators and banks are set to initiate strict actions to zero in on the guilty. Sources said the probe agency has red flagged a slew of violations of companies law by Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines and officials, including serious corporate governance lapses. The role of independent directors and whether they failed in discharging their duties during their tenure at the airline has come to the fore, they added.

Another startling revelation was made the probing agency is that the airline changed its accounting policy after consulting professors from the Indian Institutes of Management, Bangalore and Calcutta, instead of the apex accounting body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India (ICAI). The government agency has stated this in the report.