New Delhi: Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has claimed that banks have recovered Rs 14,131.60 crore from him, despite the court-ordered debt being Rs 6,203 crore. Mallya, who remains labeled as an “economic offender,” posted his statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, questioning the legal justification behind the seizure of more than double the amount of the original debt.
In his post, Mallya referred to the ruling by the Debt Recovery Tribunal, which had set the debt owed by his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) at Rs 6,203 crore, including Rs 1,200 crore in interest. He highlighted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent announcement in Parliament, which confirmed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and banks had recovered Rs 14,131.60 crore from him.
Mallya argued that unless the ED and banks can provide a legal justification for recovering more than twice the debt amount, he is entitled to relief, which he intends to pursue.
Notably, on Tuesday, during a discussion in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman detailed the ED’s actions in recovering assets linked to economic offenses. She informed the House that the ED had restored assets worth Rs 22,280 crore, covering several significant cases.
Among these, Rs 14,131.6 crore worth of assets from Mallya were returned to public sector banks. Additionally, the ED also recovered Rs 1,052.58 crore from fugitive businessman Nirav Modi.
The Finance Minister also highlighted other notable recoveries, including assets from the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, the SRS Group, Rose Valley Group, and various other economic offenders, totaling millions of rupees.
Sitharaman reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring that those involved in economic crimes do not escape justice. “We are after them and will ensure the money goes back to the banks,” she stated. She also addressed concerns over the economic growth, calling the slower second-quarter GDP growth a “temporary blip.”
