Vijay Mallya paid £650,000 bail and said ‘keep dreaming’ about ‘billions of pounds’. He said, there was ‘no loan diverted anywhere’ and reporters could ‘keep dreaming’ about allegations of a billion-pound loan fraud at Kingfisher Airlines. The 61-year-old was arrested in London on a warrant issued by Indian authorities accusing him of conspiring to defraud IDBI Bank Ltd. through a Rs. 9,100 crore loan to Kingfisher Airlines Ltd—a premium airline he founded in 2005 and shut down seven years later. Mallya left India a year ago saying he was moving to England to be closer with his children.
After taking over a beer-and-liquor empire from his father in the 1980s, Mallya built Kingfisher Airlines into one of India’s leading carriers until it was grounded amid mounting debt in 2012. He has gradually ceded control of his drinks businesses to rivals in recent years. Diageo Plc bought his United Spirits Ltd. in April 2014, while Heineken NV is now the biggest shareholder of United Breweries, the maker of the nation’s best-selling Kingfisher beer.
Vijay Mallya, faulted of non-payment on loans worth crores, was arrested in London in what the CBI counted as a major win in attempts to bring the business tycoon to India to face trial. Mallya, 61, is wanted for loan fraud and is also facing charges of money-laundering. Vijay Mallya, the former boss of Kingfisher Airlines was granted bail after being arrested by Scotland Yard in London (UK). As usual, Indian media had gone over hyping about it, but Mallya gave them befitting reply on twitter.
India had given a formal extradition request for Mallya as per the Extradition Treaty signed between India and the UK through a note verbal on 8 February. Mallya has been on the run after he failed to repay bank loans worth Rs. 9,000 crore taken on behalf of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Multiple courts in India have issued warrants against Mallya in various cases over the past one year. So far, banks have not made any significant progress as far as the recovery of Kingfisher loans even as Mallya’s Kingfisher Villa was recently sold to a Mumbai-based businessman. Recently, a Delhi court had issued an open ended non-bailable warrant against the businessman in a case of allegedly evading summons in a FERA violation matter.
On 4 November last year, while issuing non-bailable warrant against Mallya, the court had observed that, he had no inclination to return and had scant regard for the law of the land. The court also said that on 4 October, it had specifically noted that he could approach authorities and obtain emergency document to return to India but the situation is that he has not taken any such step. Last month, the British government certified India’s request for extradition of Mallya, and sent it to a district judge for further action. In a series of tweets recently, he accused the government of holding him guilty “without a trial”.
There were many petitions against Vijay Mallya from past one year. The anger and rage people carry against him is unfathomable. From words like ‘Bring Mallya back’ to ‘Initiate criminal proceedings’ were all seen in the petitions by various people. Upon searching the twitter’s tweets, you can easily find how people are speaking and their tones are against him.
Mallya did not take money from the Indian treasury, he may or may not have been a part of money laundering, and he has sponsored an entire team for IPL which we happily cheered for. He took loan from the banks and was willing to pay back. Not everyone can repay the loan amount. Not just Mallya but many people have absconded the country with a lot of money. It is bank’s responsibility to give loan based on the security they can receive. It is bank’s failed decision which has caused the uproar. Mallya did not make the banks sign at gun point or something, it was just business. Company singing with a bank for money and that is it! Many a times company can pay back, at times it does not. It is a business deal between bank and a company, has nothing to do with the nation. He has not stolen money from the citizens. Banks will happily claim their saving on taxes against the defaulters list. Actually, it is the banks that are draining the nation; they should have paid the full tax irrespective of the defaulters. Banks exist not for charity but to do business. They like to earn money by lending it, loan is one of their products. People repaying the loan or defaulting, it is called ‘business risk’ and they undertake various research before signing the documents.
Why are Indians getting worried about it? Why is a chief minister stepping down from his busy schedule and planning to resolve business issue between two companies? Besides, above all, he is asking the Prime minister of India to work on behalf of the banks. Banks should have known about the consequences. Many people defaulted when banks pushed credit cards down the throat of individuals as their sales representatives’ harassed with repeated phone calls, one of the reasons which doomed the nation like United Nations of America. At an individual level, they managed to declare a deficit from the government. Indian banks are not distributing loans as an individual demands. When you go to the bank, do you get loan instantly? Who is responsible, if you choose not to repay; bank or the government? Chief Minister is a respectable and responsible designation, and if someone wastes their time by curbing on the salary which is paid by our hard earned money as a tax then they should prove their time in the office more than casual activities. A business man will never let his employee waste his time.
When some people open their mouth or express their understanding based on the wave created by the politicians, with no bases. It actually brings down the average IQ of an entire nation. Please step out of the crowd and work towards what is in the best interest of the nation. Being a part of political wave should be a thing of the past now. Let us grow up. Let the legal procedure take its time and draw the conclusion.
