Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges, on Wednesday said that he has offered to pay back the full amount of the principal loan he owed various banks.
In a series of tweets, he said, “Airlines struggling financially partly becoz of high ATF prices. Kingfisher was a fab airline that faced the highest ever crude prices of $ 140/barrel. Losses mounted and that’s where Banks money went.I have offered to repay 100% of the Principal amount to them. Please take it. (sic.)”
The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, who has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores.
He further said that his business group which ran India’s largest alcoholic beverage group for three decades, has “contributed thousands of crores to the state exchequers” adding that the “Kingfisher Airlines also contributed handsomely to the states”.
He also expressed his sadness over the loss of the “finest Airline” and said that he still offered to pay the banks.
While demanding a fair treatment by the law, Mallya further claimed that he was being falsely accused of being a defaulter who has run away with the bank money.
“Politicians and Media are constantly talking loudly about my being a defaulter who has run away with PSU Bank money. All this is false. Why don’t I get fair treatment and the same loud noise about my comprehensive settlement offer before the Karnataka High Court. Sad,” Mallya tweeted.
Earlier in June, the UK High Court had ordered embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya to pay a minimum of 200,000 pounds towards the costs incurred by 13 Indian banks in their legal battle to recover alleged dues.
The court had refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya’s assets and upheld an Indian court’s ruling that a consortium of 13 Indian banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) were entitled to recover funds amounting to nearly 1.145 billion pounds.
As part of the judgment, the court also ordered Mallya to pay costs towards registration of the worldwide freezing order and of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) of Karnataka’s judgment in Britain.
The former Kingfisher Airlines boss remains on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April last year.
Mallya’s lawyers have claimed the criminal charges against their client as “without substance and politically motivated”. They have also challenged the case on human rights grounds, questioning the conditions at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where the businessman is to be held post-extradition.