An FIR has been registered against FlyBig (Big Charter Pvt Ltd) after a complaint filed by aircraft lessor Vman Aviation Services IFSC Pvt Ltd. Vman had filed a complaint against FlyBig with the Economic Offences Wing, Gurugram, for bank fraud and forgery of over ₹8 crore in January. FlyBig has said it is looking at legal remedy for the same.
The matter dates back to December 2023. Vman Aviation lodged a complaint against Big Charter Pvt Ltd, operating FlyBig, and its key personnel, along with employees of YES Bank Ltd. An FIR was filed by the EOW on March 20, 2024, after preliminary inquiry. Vman Aviation accused FlyBig of forgery and deceit regarding the lease of two ATR aircraft. Allegedly, FlyBig orchestrated an unauthorised transfer exceeding ₹8 crore from the escrow account mandated by the UDAN scheme, through forged documents and signatures. Vman Aviation has sought freezing of the escrow account, alleging criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and other relevant IPC and Indian laws.
The FIR has been filed under IPC Sections 405, 409, 416, 418, 420, 463, 464, 468, 471, and other relevant provisions, alleging criminal breach of trust, cheating, fraud, forgery, and misuse of false documents. The charges include wrongful loss and dishonest inducement, with potential severe legal consequences.
In response to a query sent by businessline to Big Charter’s promoter Sanjay Mandavia, a spokesperson of FlyBig, said: “Yes, we are aware. But the FIR is not against the promoter or its directors. It is against alleged operational issues of the company where Mandavia was not personally involved. The FIR being contestable, the company is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The company has already resolved the issue with one of the complainants, and our legal team is looking at the legal (and) logical course of action. It is malafide, factually incorrect and not tenable legally.”
Flights suspension
FlyBig said Vman Aero’s sudden suspension of their flights, particularly those serving the underserved north-east region led to a loss of ₹700 crore. The company claims Vman acted out of “malafide intention and greed,” prioritising deals with other clients over their existing agreement. This, according to FlyBig, resulted in a domino effect of negative consequences. Hundreds of employees lost their jobs, the company forfeited a crucial “₹700 crore UDAN award” from the Government, and millions of residents in the north-east were left stranded without access to FlyBig’s “24 daily flights”.
In response to the query sent to Vman, a company spokesperson confirmed that Vman has lodged a police complaint against FlyBig airline for bank fraud in December 2023 which has been converted into a FIR after the investigation by EOW, Gurugram, adding, “lease of both aircraft were terminated in first week of November when bank fraud came to notice.”
businessline also learnt that the company failed to deposit employees’ provident funds.
FlyBig spokesperson cited Vman Aviation ending the lease “abruptly” leading to lay-offs and restructuring. It claimed, that it is resolving employee dues with authorities.
“Due to Vman abruptly ending the lease on our aircraft, we had to undergo a massive restructuring exercise where we were forced to let go of many employees. In this process, we are trying to make sure that the dues of all employees are settled amicably, and we are working with respective authorities,” the spokesperson said.