Thief or no thief? What cases say about Vijay Mallya

Fugitive billionaire Vijay Mallya, accused of defaulting on bank loans, has made an elaborate show of contrition. Appearing on a four-hour podcast, Mallya, who is living in the UK, apologised for the downfall of his Kingfisher Airlines. Accepting responsibility for the collapse of the airline, Mallya said, "I apologise to everyone for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines."

But he also asserted that he is not a thief. Responding to charges of financial wrongdoing, Mallya said, "You may call me a fugitive, but I didn't run away. I flew on a prescheduled visit. Fair enough, I didn't return for reasons that I consider are valid… so if you want to call me a fugitive, go ahead. But where is the 'chor' (thief) coming from? Where is the 'chori' (theft)?"

During the podcast, he also expressed willingness to consider returning to India under specific conditions. "If I have a fair assurance of a fair trail and dignified existence in India, I will think about it (returning to India) seriously." Mallya said the money he owed to banks has been recovered several times over from him.

Industrialist Harsh Goenka has come to Mallya's defence. Responding to what Mallya said in the podcast, Goenka wrote on X: "Vijay Mallya lived the high life, yes. Defaulted, yes. Unlike most others, his Rs 9,000+ crore dues are now reportedly settled. Meanwhile, bigger defaulters walk free with much fatter haircuts from banks. If dues remain, the banks should clearly say so. If not, why is he still a political punching bag? Justice must be fair, not selective."

"Thank you Harsh," Mallya responded on X. "The Union Finance Ministry has confirmed in writing that Banks have recovered Rs 14,100 crores from me against a DRT judgement debt of Rs 6,203 crores. Why the blatant discrimination?"

Mallya owes Indian banks approximately Rs 9,000 crore. He fled India in 2016 and has been residing in the UK since then. In December last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Lok Sabha that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had so far restituted Rs 14,000 crore worth of assets to various banks from the sale of Mallya's assets.

What the cases against Mallya say
Mallya may believe that he is not a thief and also appear to be a victim instead of a perpetrator, but there is certainly far more to the cases against him than simply a matter of repayment of outstanding loan. Investigating agencies have accused Mallya of criminal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering on several counts. Bank officials were also arrested in the Kingfisher Airlines case. Below are the main cases against Mallya:

Loan default and fraud
Rs 6,900 crore loan default: In 2016, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines for allegedly defaulting on loans amounting to Rs 6,900 crore from a consortium of 17 public sector banks. The charges include criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Rs 900 crore IDBI Bank loan: In 2017, the CBI charged Mallya and others in a Rs 900 crore loan default case involving IDBI Bank. The charges include criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption. The agency alleged that the loan was granted without proper procedures, resulting in a loss of public funds.

Rs 180 crore Indian Overseas Bank loan: In 2024, a special CBI court issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in connection with a Rs 180 crore loan default case involving Indian Overseas Bank. The CBI alleges that Mallya caused a wrongful loss to the bank by willfully defaulting on the loan.

Money laundering
Enforcement Directorate (ED) case: The ED has charged Mallya under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleges that Kingfisher Airlines diverted at least Rs 3,547 crore of the loan received from banks. Instances of alleged diversion include over-invoicing of aircraft lease rentals, payments for a corporate jet used exclusively by Mallya, and transfers to the Force India Formula One team and the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team.

Service tax evasion
Rs 100 crore service tax default: In 2012 and 2015, the service tax department filed complaints against Kingfisher Airlines for non-payment of over Rs 100 crore in service tax, despite collecting this amount from passengers. A Mumbai court issued non-bailable warrants against Mallya and others in connection with this case.

Corporate misgovernance and fraud
Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) case: In July 2016, the SFIO issued notices to 17 companies for taking loans from banks to finance the defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The investigation uncovered instances of corporate misgovernance and financial irregularities.

Mallya's accusation of recovering debt "multiple times over"

In February this year, Mallya moved the Karnataka high court challenging the debt recovery proceedings against him. In his petition, Mallya sought a statement by the banks of accounts for the amounts owed by him to United Breweries Holdings Limited (in liquidation) and other certificate debtors. It was submitted that the amount due had already been recovered, and even still additional recovery proceedings had been carried out against Mallya.

"Parallelly there was a debt recovery proceeding, in that a sum of Rs 6200 crore was ordered to be paid by the primary debtor Kingfisher and the UBHL which was the guarantor. That order also attained finality," Mallya's advocate said.

"However, between 2017 the Rs 6200 crore was recovered multiple times over and there is an admitted statement which I have filed, as on date, the recovery officer says Rs 10,200 crore has been recovered. While the official liquidator says banks have made their money restored. Lastly a statement is made in the Parliament by the Finance Minister that 14,000 crore is recovered," he added.

(With TOI inputs)