Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has been declared bankrupt by a British court on Monday and allows Indian banks to pursue his assets worldwide. The decision was announced at an oral hearing yesterday.
According to the statement of the UK High Court press office, the Companies and Insolvency Court of UK passed the ruling. Vijay Mallya has been denied any right to appeal against the bankruptcy decision.
Mallya is the owner of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, who owns Rs 9,000 crore plus to a consortium of banks in principal and interest. The nation’s biggest public sector bank, the State Bank of India, is the leader of the consortium of 17 banks to whom Mallya owes more than Rs 9,000 crore.
The petitioners were State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium of 13 Indian banks, including Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co Pvt Ltd.
The flamboyant business tycoon, Mallya fled to the UK and has been combating to avoid extradition to India. He remains on bail after he was ordered to be extradited in December 2018 by Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London. Nevertheless, with constant headlines, Vijay Mallya will go down in history as a liquor baron who lost his empire because of sheer stubbornness.
Moreover, calling him bankrupt has commenced a heated debate. It is believed that Mallya has $ 7 – $ 13 Million in Swiss Bank Accounts and in Luxembourg and Belgium in undisclosed accounts. All in All, Mallya is expected to have around $ 50 – $ 100 Million in assets still across the world which are untouchable due to excellent accounting procedures and legal safeguards.
Tags London Court Vijay Mallya