"Entitled To Relief": Vijay Mallya On Banks Recovering Rs 14,131 Crore Assets

Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday said that banks have recovered Rs 14,131.60 crore from him "against the judgement debt of Rs 6,203 crore" but he continues to be "an economic offender".

He said in a post on X that unless the Enforcement Directorate and banks can legally justify how they have taken more than two times the debt, he is entitled to relief.

"The Debt Recovery Tribunal adjudged the KFA (Kingfisher Airlines) debt at Rs 6,203 crores including Rs 1,200 crores of interest. The FM announced in Parliament that through the ED, Banks have recovered Rs 14,131.60 crores from me against the judgement debt of Rs 6,203 crores and I am still an economic offender. Unless the ED and Banks can legally justify how they have taken more than two times the debt, I am entitled to relief which I will pursue," Mallya said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday listed several major cases where the Enforcement Diectorate has from time to time attached properties of individuals and companies connected to economic offence cases.

Replying to the debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants - First Batch for 2024-2025, she apprised the Lok Sabha Tuesday evening that the central enforcement agency has successfully restored properties worth around Rs 22,280 crore -- only the major cases included.

Of those restored, the complete attached property worth Rs 14,131.6 crores of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has been restored to the public sector banks, the minister said.

In the case of Nirav Modi, another fugitive, Rs 1,052.58 crores has been restored to the public and private sector banks.

In National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, Rs 17.47 crores have been obtained and given to the banks, SRS Group worth Rs 20.15 crores, Rose Valley Group worth Rs 19.40 crores, Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd worth Rs 185.13 crores, Nowhera Sheikh and Others (Heera Group) worth Rs 226 crores, Naidu Amrutesh Reddy and Others worth Rs 12.73 crores.Properties worth Rs 2,565.90 crores have been restored related to Mehul Choksi and others, she said.

Citing these numbers of attached properties and subsequently handing them over to the banks, the Finance Minister said that her government has not left anybody who committed economic offences.

"It is important to recognise that we have not left anybody in economic offences; we are after them. We will ensure that money that has to go to the banks goes back," she said in Lok Sabha during the reply.

The Union Minister expressed optimism about economic growth, saying that the sluggish figures of second-quarter GDP growth was a "temporary blip."