Had honest intentions, trying to settle dues since 2016: Mallya on MJ Akbar’s ‘years to repay’ remark

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Wednesday said that the Government, Courts and Banks were rightfully concerned about Public money loaned by Public Sector Banks to him and he always had honest intentions to settle all the dues.

“I have made an application to the Hon'ble Karnataka HC showing assets far in excess of the Banks claims and requesting sale under judicial supervision. I always had honest intentions to settle and there is ample proof,” Mallya said in a series of tweets.

Responding to MoS Foreign Affairs Minister MJ Akbar’s remark that he (Mallya) had “years to repay” the dues, the owner of IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore said that he was making efforts to repay loans since 2016.

“My old friend MJ Akbar (now Hon’ble MOS) states that I had years to repay. My settlement initiatives date back to 2016,” he tweeted.

Mallya claimed that while he wanted settlement of all the dues, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were objecting to it.

“They used CBI and ED to attach and recover. I, myself have placed all assets before the Hon'ble Karnataka HC and submitted for sale. Banks should be very happy. But if the same CBI and ED object what do I do?” he said.

The tweets from Mallya came a day after he made public his letters to Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2016.

"I wrote to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on April 15, 2016, and I am making these letters public to put things in the right perspective. No response was received from either of them," he said in a statement from the UK on Tuesday.

Vijay Mallya is wanted in India for defaulting loans of state-run banks worth around 9,000 crore. The Government of India is making all the possible efforts for Mallya's extradition from the UK. He was even arrested in 2017 on an extradition warrant. However, he was granted bail within minutes of his arrest.