State Bank of India (SBI) has ordered a forensic audit of Jet Airways’ books for the period between April 2014 and March 2018, according to sources in the bank.
SBI, which is the lead banker to the airlines’ over ₹8,000 crore loans, has mandated EY to conduct the forensic audit of its books, which has already begun the process, the sources added.
Consecutive losses
The airline has been struggling to keep afloat following three consecutive quarterly losses of over ₹1,000 crore each.
The bank’s action comes at a time when the Naresh Goyal-promoted airline is in talks with potential investors to raise funds to tide over the liquidity crisis.
“It was decided to conduct a forensic audit of the accounts of Jet Airways for the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2018,” SBI sources said. When contacted, an SBI spokesperson declined to comment.
