Indian banks recovered over Rs 14k cr, twice he owed, claims Vijay Mallya
New Delhi, Apr 07 (PTI): Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya has claimed that Indian banks have got access to his properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore, more than twice the amount that he owed to public sector banks.
Mallya cited purported reference to the details of restoration done by the Enforcement Directorate against wilful defaulters in the Finance Ministry's annual report 2024-25 to say that banks have already recovered Rs 14,131.8 crore against Rs 6,203 crore awarded by the Debt Recovery Tribunal.
"Finally, against aT judgment debt of Rs 6,203 crore, admitted recovery of Rs 14,131.8 crore, which will be evidence in my UK bankruptcy annulment application. Wonder what banks will say in an English Court," Mallya said in a post on X.
Sharing details of fugitive economic offenders, including Mallya and 10 others, the report said a total of 44 extradition requests have been sent to various countries in respect of 36 individuals.
As per the annual report of the ministry, a complete amount of attached properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore has been successfully restored to the Public Sector Banks in the case of Vijay Mallaya.
The efforts of the ED have resulted in successful representation before Competent Court abroad in the extradition of various fugitive economic offenders and other accused, the report said.
"In this regard, it is pertinent to mention that the UK Court has approved extradition of few high profile accused persons to India following effective representation of the Directorate in coordination with other LEAs (law enforcement agencies) and Indian mission abroad," it said.
TheT bench of Bengaluru in 2017 had ordered the SBI-led consortium of banks to start the process of recovering Rs 6,203 crore, at an annual interest rate of 11.5 per cent, from embattled Mallya and his companies in the Kingfisher Airlines case.
Mallya, who fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India over a default of Rs 9,000 crore that was loaned to esrtwhile Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) by several banks.
India has been seeking Mallya's extradition from the UK. He had in the past offered to repay 100 per cent of "public money" but accused the banks and government of refusing his offer.
In February, a London Court heard a set of complicated arguments involving a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India seeking repayment of an estimated judgment debt of around GBP 1.05 billion owed by the 69-year-old businessman's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
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Rupee strengthens past 90/USD level in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 24 paise to 89.96 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices.
Forex traders said the gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee’s string of record lows in recent weeks on likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, crude oil prices hovering around USD 59 per barrel level supported market sentiment.
ALSO READ:Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early trade
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.19 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.96 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 24 paise over its previous close.
In initial trade it also touched 90.22 against the American currency. On Thursday, the rupee appreciated 18 paise against the US dollar to close at 90.20 against the greenback.
The rupee sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.
"Since the speculators are out of the market the buying of US dollar syndrome has come down a bit though intra-day we could see spikes," said Anil Kumar Bhansali Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
The US CPI came lower than expected but was also due to non-collection of sufficient data and therefore, the next month’s CPI becomes more important, Bhansali said, adding that "Rupee remains in a range of 90-90.50".
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 98.46.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.27 per cent at USD 59.66 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 375.98 points to 84,857.79, while the Nifty was up 110.60 points to 25,934.15.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said he is not concerned about the rupee at all, arguing that even China and Japan witnessed exchange rate weaknesses during their high growth phases.
Speaking at 'Times Network's India Economic Conclave 2025', Sanyal said since the 90s, the rupee has mostly been allowed to find its own level, but the RBI uses its reserves to intervene in either direction to stop excessive volatility.
"I am not concerned about the rupee at all... Let me say that the rupee and its current weakness should not be necessarily conflated with some economic worry, because historically, if you go over time, you will see that economies that are in their high growth phase very often go through a phase of exchange rate weakness," he said.
