Bank of Baroda froze accounts of a 54-year-old UP farmer saying he is Vijay Mallya's guarantor
The man, Manmohan Singh, said he has no idea who the former liquor baron is or that there are loan defaulting cases against him.
Bank of Baroda froze the accounts of one Manmohan Singh from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly being the "guarantor" for former liquor baron Vijay Mallya, reported The Hindu. The 54-year-old farmer, who lives in Khajuria Naviram village under the Bilsanda police station, said he has no idea who Mallya is. The bank, however, initiated the process of restoring his banking facilities after realising the mistake.
Singh said he had recently submitted his land documents to the bank for a loan of Rs 4 lakh he had taken about two years ago. “Leave alone Mallya or Kingfisher, I have never travelled to Mumbai or even Lucknow,” he said. The Naand branch of the bank received instructions from their regional office, following which they froze two of Singh's accounts — one having Rs 12,000 and the other Rs 4,000.
Mallya owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks in the country. He is being sought by various investigation agencies since he left the country on March 2. The former Rajya Sabha member is believed to be in the United Kingdom.