Vijay Mallya Attack Banks on paying back PSUs: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

Fugitive Business tycoon Vijaya Mallya has again lashed out at the Indian public sector banks, a day after more than 74 lakh shares held by the him in United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) were sold for over Rs 1,000 crore.

“So much so for branding me a thief who stole PSU Bank money and ran away. Banks have made a substantial recovery in the past and also today. All included in my settlement proposal too. Damned if you do and Damned if you don’t is how I am treated,” he tweeted.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday that the sale 74,04,932 shares owned by Vijay Mallya in the United Breweries Holdings (UBHL) Limited by Bengaluru-based Debt Recovery Tribunal fetched Rs 1,008 crore.

“The shares attached by the agency as part of its money laundering probe against the liquor baron were lying with Yes Bank and the Karnataka High Court had recently ordered the bank to surrender these "in favour of" the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT),” the ED quoted saying by PTI.

the ED said, the recovery officer of the DRT, Bangalore published a notice early this month for the sale of a total of 74,04,932 shares of UBHL.

"Based on the submissions made and proactive steps taken by the ED and in view of the large outstanding debts of the SBI consortium against Kingfisher Airlines and Vijay Mallya, a special PMLA court allowed the sale of shares on March 26.

"Subsequently, the shares were sold by the recovery officer on Wednesday and an amount of Rs 1,008 crore has been realised," the agency said.

The 62-year-old Vijay Mallya is wanted in India for defaulting on Rs. 9,000 crore in loans to his failed Kingfisher Airlines. He is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017. Mallya fled India to the United Kingdom in March 2016.

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