Vijay Mallya claims assets over Rs 13,000 crore have been attached towards debt recovery; where is the justice, asks fugitive liquor baron

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Friday claimed his group’s properties worth over Rs 13,000 crore have been attached, more than the ‘claimed’ Rs 9,000 crore that he “ran away with” asking where is justice and how far will it go. In a series of tweets, Mallya, who intends to appeal against a UK court’s extradition verdict, also claimed that the banks to which he owes money “have given an open licence to their Lawyers in England to pursue multiple frivolous litigations against” him questioning the “brazen” spending of “public money on legal fees”. [caption id=“attachment_4300221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Vijay Mallya. PTI.[/caption] “Every morning I wake up to yet another attachment by the DRT (debt recovery tribunal) recovery officer. Value already crossed (Rs) 13,000 crore. Banks claim dues including all interest of (Rs) 9,000 crore which is subject to review. How far will this go and well beyond? Justified??”, Mallya tweeted. He further said the DRT recovery officer recently attached his group’s assets worth over Rs 13,000 crore in India on behalf of the consortium of banks. “Yet the narrative is that I ran away with the claimed amount of (Rs) 9000 crore causing loss to the public sector banks. Where is Justice or fair play?” he asked.

The DRT Recovery Officer recently attaches my Group assets worth over 13,000 crores in India on behalf of the Consortium of Banks. Yet the narrative is that I ran away with the claimed amount of 9000 crores causing loss to the Public Sector Banks. Where is Justice or fair play ?

— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) February 1, 2019

The embattled liquor baron further said “despite all the attachments in India, banks have given an open licence to their lawyers in England to pursue multiple frivolous litigations against me. Who is accountable for spending public money on legal fees in such a brazen manner?” Mallya also claimed that the banks’ lawyers in England have objected in writing to his paying “my legitimate tax dues to HMRC which I requested”. “Irony is, Indian state banks want my money in England to settle an Indian debt already secured and deny payment to the UK, tax exchequer. Disgraceful,” he added. Detailing his plans to file an appeal against the extradition, Mallya said: “After the decision was handed down on 10 December,2018 by the Westminster Magistrates Court, I stated my intention to appeal. I could not initiate the appeal process before a decision by the Home Secretary. Now I will initiate the appeal process.” Last year in December Westminster Magistrates’ Court Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot had ruled in favour of extradition of Mallya, who is wanted in India for alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated Rs 9,000 crore. Later on, he had stated that he intended to file an application to appeal against a British court’s verdict. With inputs from PTI