Located in North Goa's tony Candolim beach village, the Kingfisher Villa, the palatial residence of liquor merchant Vijay Mallya, was seized by the State bank of India (SBI)-led consortium of lender banks on Friday, reported the IANS. A seizure that followed much legal wrangling would lead to the valuation of the premises soon.
The auctioning of it is expected to take a little longer, said Anil Kohli of ARCK consultants, a legal agency appointed by the lenders to take possession of the asset.
The lender banks' consortium had sought permission to take possession of the villa under the securitisation law (Sarfaesi Act). However, a pending hearing from the North Goa collector had delayed the seizure action for a long time.
ANI reported that the district magistrate recently gave an order in favour of banks to take physical possession of the villa, which had come to represent the lavish side of Mallya's flamboyant lifestyle.
"The property has been attached completely. All inventories have been done. No one can now have access to the villa without permission. The SBI has taken control. We have proceeded as per court order," Kohli told reporters outside Kingfisher Villa, according to IANS.
The villa was leased by United Spirits Ltd. (USL) from the lessor, United Breweries Holdings (UBHL). At a later date, UBHL mortgaged the villa as collateral for loans given to Kingfisher Airlines.
The Airlines' Rs.7,000 crore plus loan default had prompted the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court to give a nod to the consortium to take possession of Rs. 90-crore Kingfisher Villa and auction it to recover their dues.
