Kingfisher Airlines Employees to Receive INR 312 Crore After ED Approval

The long-overdue employee compensation of INR 311.67 crore owed to M/s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd (KAL) has been facilitated by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). The restitution comes after the recovery officer of the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT)-I, Chennai, issued an order on December 12, 2025, ordering the release of proceeds from the sale of attached shares that the ED had previously returned to State Bank of India (SBI) in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money will be given to the official liquidator so that former Kingfisher Airlines workers can get their money back.

Findings of ED

Based on FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against KAL, its promoter Vijay Mallya, and related entities for bank fraud and criminal conspiracy-scheduled offences under the PMLA, the ED started its investigation by registering several Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs).

The ED said in a statement on 18 December that its investigation showed that large amounts of loan facilities obtained by M/s Kingfisher Airlines Ltd were used to pay off outstanding debts with other banks and lenders, settle documentary bills that Bank of Baroda had discounted, and send large amounts overseas under the guise of lease rentals and aircraft part purchases.

ED Attached Properties of Associated Entities

In addition to attaching properties valued at INR 1,694.52 crore under Section 83 of the CrPC, the ED discovered and provisionally attached properties and assets belonging to Vijay Mallya, KAL, and related entities totalling INR 5,042 crore under Section 5(1) of the PMLA during the course of the investigation. In accordance with the PMLA, 2002, the ED filed prosecution complaints against Vijay Mallya, KAL, and related businesses in light of the findings. In January 2019, Mallya was subsequently designated as a Fugitive Economic Offender under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.