Mallya sold his coffee estate in Coorg at Rs 10 crore, ED summons the buyer

Last week liquor baron Vijay Mallya, a proclaimed offender and wanted by the enforcement directorate (ED) in India, was spotted at an event in London enjoying the release of his dear friend Suhel Seth's book Mantra for Success: India's Greatest CEOs Tell You How to Win. Meanwhile, back in India the investigators are losing their sleep figuring out how and why did Mallya sell his coffee estate in Coorg at such a low price.

MALLYA SELLS IN COFFEE ESTATE IN COORG AT UNBELIEVABLE PRICE

In January 2016, Vijay Mallya sold his 262 acres coffee plantation property (out of 291 acres) at Coorg in Karnataka, at a valuation of Rs 10 crore. That is Mallya sold his coffee plantation at the valuation of around Rs 4 lakh per acre.

PROPERTY RATE IN COORG

Coorg, also known as Kodagu, is famous for coffee plantations. And so the property market at Coorg is always an attraction for tourists and investors. A single acre of coffee plantation is getting quoted in the range of Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 22 lakhs.

So, if Mallya sold his 262 acres coffee estate in January 2016 (with some hidden premiums, if any), than he would have cracked this deal at a valuation of Rs 55-60 crore (on average).

WHAT THE ED DISCOVERED

Some days back, during the attachment process of Mallya's 28.71 acre coffee estate, the ED officials seized documents and property papers with the valuation amount of Rs 10 crore.

The agency has begun its probe.

"What was the total deal amount, how much Mallya and UBHL benefited out of it, in whose bank accounts the money has been transacted, does these accounts belongs to Mallya or the layer of web companies which Mallya has created, what role UBHL has played in cracking this deal and siphoning of the amount? These are some crucial queries - against which the ED is trying to get the answers", the source said.

WHO BOUGHT THE COFFEE ESTATE

The buyer of Mallya's coffee estate is a businessman and educationist Alake Janardhana Shetty from Mangaluru. He has been summoned twice by the agency to remain present to the ED office in Mumbai.

"In reply to our first summon, Shetty had sought more time from us. We have now issued another summon to him for the end of this month", the source from ED said.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PART OF THE HOUSE

Sources say, Mallya declined to sell the remaining 28.71 acres coffee plant to Shetty because it is a part of his ancestral house and has a temple within. The agency is trying to probe the linkage between Shetty and Mallya/UBHL - before and during this deal.

Two weeks back, ED had made a provisional attachment of eight immovable properties including one flat in Bengaluru and Mumbai each (2,291 sq ft and 1300 sq ft respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation in Coorg (28.75 acres), a residential and commercial constructed area in UB City and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (8,40,279 sq ft).

CASE AGAINST MALLYA

Till now, investigation under PMLA revealed that a loan amounting to Rs 864 crore was sanctioned to Kingfisher Airlines against collateral security of Kingfisher Brand, corporate guarantee of United Breweries (Holding) and personal guarantee of Mallya. Out of the total loan, Rs 807 crore remains unpaid.

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