Vijay Mallya confident of judicial relief in pending cases
United Breweries (Holdings) chairman Vijay Mallya says he is being accused of having stolen or siphoned out Rs6,000 crore of Kingfisher Airlines without any legal basis
Bengaluru: United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd chairman Vijay Mallya, at the centre of a money laundering probe, told shareholders on Thursday he was confident that charges against him will be dropped, hours after the company posted an over-13-fold rise in net profit.
Net profit at United Breweries, India’s largest brewer, rose to 29.47 crore in the June quarter from 2.16 crore in the same period a year ago, a BSE filing showed.
The embattled business tycoon told the annual general meeting in Bengaluru by video, “I am now being accused of having stolen or siphoned out 6,000 crore of Kingfisher Airlines (a UB Group subsidiary, now grounded) without any legal basis whatsoever. As part of its concerted effort to make me a poster boy of bad loans and financial crime, the government continues to attach properties and threaten other forms of action. All of which I assure you, my dear friends, will be contested over the course of law."
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“I have great faith in the Indian judicial system and I am sure that judicial relief will come our way sooner rather than later," added Mallya, who has been based in the UK since early this year.
Mallya is facing criminal charges for defaulting over 6,000 crore in loans. Along with interest and penalties, he owes over 9,000 crore to lenders including the State Bank of India, Axis Bank and IDBI Bank among others.
Last week, a consortium of 17 banks led by the SBI put Mallya’s Kingfisher Villa, a prime property in Goa, on sale at a reserve price of 85.29 crore, according to a PTI report. The villa, which is owned by UBHL, was mortgaged by Kingfisher Airlines in exchange for loans by the SBI-led consortium in 2010.
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Mallya said “every single naya paisa of all borrowings" made by Kingfisher and “every single naya paisa of expenditure" incurred by it through the trust retention account of the company that was managed by SBI, could be accounted for. He urged shareholders to continue to support him as they have over the past decades. At an AGM earlier this month, United Breweries Ltd expressed its confidence in Mallya by announcing that he will continue as the company’s chairman.
Mallya ended his message by apologizing for not being able to attend the meeting. “Once again I am very sorry that I am not there. I look forward to seeing you again as soon as I possibly can," he said.
Sharan Poovanna contributed to this story.
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