India: Vijay Mallya seeks approval to sell frozen assets to settle bank dues

Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has sought court approvals to sell some frozen assets worth Rs13,900cr in a fresh attempt to settle bank dues owed by his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Indiainfoline reported on June 26.

Mallya and United Breweries Holdings (UBHL) filed an application before a court in the southern state of Karnataka seeking permission to repay creditors from the proceeds of the sale on June 22, according to a statement on June 26.

“I respectfully say that I have made and continue to make every effort, in good faith, to settle with the public sector banks,” Mallya, who now lives in the UK, said in the statement. “If politically motivated extraneous factors interfere, there is nothing that I can do.”

Mallya, 62, is fighting numerous lawsuits in the UK and his native country over fraud and money-laundering allegations after Indian lenders, under pressure from regulators to recover money from defaulters, have gone after the flamboyant former billionaire for an unpaid debt of around Rs9,300cr owed by his carrier that was grounded in 2012. Indian authorities have also desperately sought his extradition from the UK.

26 June, 2018