Kingfisher house seized in Mumbai

Lenders to Kingfisher Airlines on Saturday took possession of Kingfisher House—the erstwhile corporate office of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) near Mumbai airport's domestic terminal. The move is part of the lenders' moves to recover Rs 6,072 crore along with interest.

A SBI Caps trustee took physical possession of the 25,850-sq ft plot, which includes the office premises of over 17,072 sq ft, situated on the Western Express Highway. A notice announcing this was pasted on the building's doors.

SBI Caps, on behalf of the lenders, had issued a notice to KFA under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act on May 3, 2013. The notice is a precursor to acquiring a defaulter's property under the Act. "The Act says that if the borrower fails to repay within 60 days of the notice, lenders can take possession of assets and dispose of them," said a bank official who is among the lenders to Kingfisher Air.

Banks have already recovered some money selling shares and would also look at attaching other physical assets, including Kingfisher Villa in Goa, the official added. Besides attaching property, lenders are invoking corporate and personal guarantees provided by Vijay Mallya as part of their efforts to recover their money.

State Bank of India has the largest exposure of over Rs 1,600 crore followed by Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank which have an exposure of Rs 800 crore each. Bank of India is seeking to recover Rs 650 crore.