Siddhartha's death: Vijay Mallya brands Indian government "vicious and unrelenting"
London: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has dubbed the Indian government "vicious and unrelenting" in his latest intervention on social media, as he spoke out in support of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha who was found dead on Wednesday amid financial troubles.
The body of 59-year-old Siddhartha, who went missing two days ago, was found by local fishermen and patrolling policemen on the banks of the Netravathi river near Mangaluru.
The 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, who is fighting extradition to India in relation to fraud and money laundering allegations, accused the government of not doing enough to support entrepreneurs in debt.
"I am indirectly related to VG Siddhartha. Excellent human and brilliant entrepreneur. I am devastated with the contents of his letter," said Mallya on Twitter.
"The Govt Agencies and Banks can drive anyone to despair. See what they are doing to me despite offer of full repayment. Vicious and unrelenting," he said.
Siddhartha's body was found after a note left by him accusing the Income Tax Department. While the authenticity of the letter is now being questioned, Mallya compared the situation of debtors in India with those in the West.
"In Western Countries, Government and Banks help borrowers repay their debts. In my case they are obstructing every possible effort for me to repay my debt whilst competing for my assets. As far as the prima facie criminal case goes wait for the appeal granted," he said, also re-tweeting a series of other Twitter messages related to the financial pressures on Siddhartha.
In reference to the latest proceedings by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him in India, Mallya reiterated that McDowell Holdings Limited is an independent listed company in India and the suggestion by the Indian investigating agencies that it is a "dummy" company is "preposterous".
"All my financial affairs including my sources of income and expenditure are fully disclosed before English Courts in proceedings initiated by Banks," he said.
Mallya also sought to distance himself from any connection with Shashikanth, a former managing director of United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), saying he had no contact with him for the past three years.
He also denied any knowledge about Shashikanth's company Ultimate Branding Worldwide or its activities and claimed he had never heard of and had no connection with Tammy International Dubai being linked with Mallya as part of the ED investigation.
The businessman branded the latest allegations an "inaccurate version of facts" and once again took aim at the media for publishing "nonsense" for sensational headlines about him.
Mallya remains on bail pending his UK High Court appeal, now scheduled for February 2020, in the extradition proceedings brought by India in relation to charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crores.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
