Vijay Mallya claims he repaid money in full. But what's the reality?

Vijay Mallya is the talk of the town, again.

After his four-hour long podcast with influencer Raj Shamani, the government and banks have called out the 'declared eonomic fugitive' for his claims that he is being harassed by lenders even after he has repaid the outstanding debts.

Meanwhile, the lenders have argued that the bankrupt businessman still owes a large amount of money to creditors.


The former Kingfisher airline owner claimed that he has paid a sum of Rs 14,000 crore to banks against loans of Rs 6,200 crore. However, as per TOI sources, Mallya owes banks them nearly Rs 7,000 crore. The math is simple:

When the case reached the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in June 2013, Kingfisher Airlines’ consolidated non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 6,848 crore, which included non-cumulative redeemable preference shares.

As per the DRT decree, the total dues to creditors, including interest and charges, climbed to Rs 17,781 crore by April 10. Of this, banks have recovered Rs 10,815 crore, leaving an outstanding amount of Rs 6,997 crore, government sources told TOI.

Officials said Mallya’s repayment claims ignore the accrual of interest and penal charges, which are applicable until the full settlement of loans.

Any loan comes with interest until the amount is fully paid. In case of loan defaulters, such as Mallya, there is also a penal interest.

Sources added that Mallya appears to be citing repayment of the principal alone. This isn’t the first time he has made such assertions. The liquor baron, who left India in 2016, continues to contest legal efforts to extradite him back to face charges of financial fraud and loan default.

Following his exit from the country, banks were allowed by courts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to liquidate properties attached by enforcement agencies. Sales included marquee assets like the Kingfisher Villa in Goa. These recoveries were conducted in accordance with board-approved policies of banks.

“Norms are uniform irrespective of who the borrower is or from which part of the country or community he or she comes from. So, any allegation or claim made by Mallya regarding recoveries under any undue influence or under media pressure or due to an inherent bias against him is misconstrued and completely baseless,” TOI quoted a source as saying.

Loans extended to Kingfisher Airlines also came under scrutiny, with instances of alleged irregularities. Former IDBI Bank chairman Yogesh Agarwal was among those arrested in connection with the case.

(With inputs from TOI)