New Delhi: Businessman Vijay Mallya, facing multiple fraud charges in India and currently living in the UK, has issued a rare public apology for the failure of his Kingfisher Airlines while firmly denying allegations of theft. In a candid four-hour podcast with Raj Shamani released on Thursday, Mallya opened up about his reasons for not returning to India and insisted he would only come back if assured of a fair trial and a “dignified existence.”
“I apologise to everyone for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines,” Mallya said. When asked if his legal troubles worsened because he chose not to return to India, he responded, “If I have assurance of a fair trial and a dignified existence in India, you may be right, but I don’t.”
Acknowledging that it is “fair” to call him a fugitive for not returning after March 2016, Mallya rejected the label of “thief” often used against him in political discourse. “Call me a fugitive for not going to India post-March 2016. I didn’t run away, I flew out of India on a prescheduled visit. Fair enough, I did not return for reasons that I consider are valid, so if you want to call me a fugitive, go ahead, but where is the ‘chor’ coming from? Where is the ‘chori’?” he questioned.
Mallya is accused of defaulting on loans exceeding Rs 9,000 crore extended to Kingfisher Airlines by a consortium of Indian banks. He has been resisting extradition from the UK, claiming he would not receive a fair trial in India. Despite a 2018 UK court ruling approving his extradition, his legal battles continue.
In a recent setback on April 9, Mallya lost an appeal against a London High Court bankruptcy order involving over Rs 11,101 crore owed to lenders, including the State Bank of India. Earlier this year, he petitioned the Karnataka High Court seeking details on the amount banks had already recovered from him, arguing that although the original debt was Rs 6,200 crore, banks had reportedly recovered Rs 14,000 crore—more than double the owed amount—and requested transparency on ongoing recovery efforts.
India continues to pursue Mallya’s extradition from the UK to face charges related to loan defaults and financial fraud linked to the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines.
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