15/06/2025
Vijay Mallya: 'Not a Thief'? The ₹9000 CRORE Debt & Lavish Parties EXPOSED!
After nine long years, a name synonymous with controversy, Vijay Mallya, suddenly resurfaces! Where? On a four-hour podcast, no less, boldly declaring, "I am not a thief!" 🚫💰. He even suggested he's "probably the only thief who is being called a thief after repaying two and a half times". But hold on… if stolen money is recovered, does that erase the crime? 🤔 This very question forms the core of our story.
📅 **FLASHBACK: FEBRUARY 2016** 📅
It’s February 28, 2016. High-ranking State Bank of India (SBI) officials meet with Supreme Court lawyer Dushyant Dave. The urgent topic? Vijay Mallya, who allegedly owed nearly ₹9,000 crore. Dave sensed Mallya might flee the country and advised immediate Supreme Court action to prevent it. The next day, February 29, SBI officials were supposed to meet Dave to file a petition. But they never showed up! 🤷♀️. It was five days later, on March 5, that SBI finally filed a petition. Too late! ⏰ Vijay Mallya had already left India on March 2.
✈️ **MALLYA'S DEFENSE: THE ESCAPE** ✈️
Now, fast forward to his recent podcast with Raj Shamani. Mallya claims he didn't flee. Instead, he states, "I told the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before leaving for the airport and then I flew". This four-hour-plus podcast saw him attempting to defend himself against various accusations, trying to prove his innocence.
🎙️ **THE PODCAST DILEMMA** 🎙️
This surge of high-profile interviews on YouTube, bypassing traditional Indian media, is both intriguing and concerning. On one hand, it highlights a distrust in Indian media. On the other, a critical question arises: Are podcasts merely becoming PR tools for individuals accused of massive fraud? 🤨. Lalit Modi and the BYJU's CEO, also facing serious allegations, have also chosen podcasts over interviews with actual journalists. This begs the question: Is Mallya truly a victim, or are his alleged crimes being white-washed? 🧐. Let’s dive deeper, based on news reports, facts, and Mallya’s own statements.
💸 **THE UNPAID SALARIES SAGA** 💸
The first major accusation against Mallya involves Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) employees not receiving salaries. This crisis began around mid-2012. By October 20, 2012, all KFA flights ceased operations. And on December 31, 2012, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) formally cancelled KFA’s license. By January 2013, employees hadn't been paid for eight months! 💔.
Yet, in his 2023 podcast, Mallya insisted he deeply cared for his employees. He claimed he tried to pay salaries but couldn't because the Karnataka High Court had seized his funds due to objections from the banks. He stated, "There was money lying in deposit with the Karnataka High Court. I specifically applied to court to pay the salaries of Kingfisher and staff. The banks objected and the court refused the permission".
❌ **THE FLAWS IN MALLYA'S DEFENSE** ❌
But Mallya's High Court argument has two major gaps:
1. The High Court seized funds in 2013, but salaries stopped in mid-2012. So, was the High Court truly to blame for the initial non-payment? 🤔.
2. When Mallya petitioned the High Court in 2013, he only requested release of ₹13 crore for one month’s salary, not the full pending amount. Even if approved, employees would have received only one month's pay, despite being owed eight months. In total, about 3,000 employees are still owed ₹300 crore, with some individual dues reaching ₹25-50 lakh.
When asked why he didn’t use funds from his other successful companies like United Spirits or United Breweries, Mallya asserted that Kingfisher wasn’t his sole priority. He argued that if one company fails, it doesn't mean the entire group must fail.
🎉 **LAVISH PARTIES AMIDST RUIN** 🎉
Here's the jarring contrast: While employees struggled, Mallya threw lavish parties. In December 2015, he celebrated his 60th birthday in Goa with a two-day extravaganza for 200 guests at the Taj Hotel, featuring performances by Enrique Iglesias and Sonu Nigam. This party alone cost an estimated ₹13 crore, according to a Forbes report! 🤑.
The obvious question: How could an alleged billionaire spend ₹13 crore on a party but not pay ₹300 crore in employee salaries?. Mallya saw nothing wrong with it, claiming he paid for it himself and KFA was in no position to pay. He even quipped, "Maybe it was a mistake. I should have probably come here to London and had my party and nobody would have known". His logic? He’s a successful businessman with other companies, so he can afford such expenses.
Then-RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan commented on this very situation, stating that flaunting lavish parties while deeply in debt gives the public the impression of indifference. And it gets worse: KFA allegedly deducted tax from employee salaries but never deposited it with the Income Tax Department, leaving employees to face notices. Despite this, Mallya claimed he was "proud of the care that I gave to my employees".
📄 **THE "GUARANTOR" GAMBIT** 📄
Mallya’s second big claim in the podcast was that *he* never borrowed money personally; it was Kingfisher Airlines. He clarified, "I was a personal guarantor. There's a big difference". While technically true, this is only half the truth. As a personal guarantor, Mallya is legally bound to repay the loan, a fact confirmed by both Indian and UK courts.
🕵️♀️ **MONEY LAUNDERING & CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS** 🕵️♀️
Mallya went even further, stating there were no other criminal allegations against him, just loan non-repayment. He asked, "Have I stolen money from the banks? Have I done any money laundering?". The answer, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is a resounding YES! 🚨.
The ED has filed a case against Mallya under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a serious criminal offense. According to the ED:
* Kingfisher Airlines allegedly diverted ₹3,547 crore from loans for other purposes, which constitutes money laundering.
* Between April 2008 and March 2012, ₹3,432 crore was laundered by inflating aircraft lease amounts.
* ₹45.42 crore from SBI and PNB loans was used to pay the lease for a corporate jet, which Mallya and his family used as a personal jet ✈️. Mallya didn't deny misusing the jet, instead deflecting by suggesting others, like the Ambanis, do the same.
* ₹50.90 crore was diverted to his Formula One team, Force India, under the guise of "fuel, airport charges, hotels, and other operating expenses".
* In 2008, ₹15.9 crore from an SBI loan was allegedly routed through multiple accounts to his IPL team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), because SBI had refused the direct transfer. Mallya claimed this was advertising fees for Kingfisher ads on umpire jerseys. But if so, why did SBI object? 🤔.
🏦 **LOAN SCAMS & HIDDEN ASSETS** 🏦
Mallya also faces allegations regarding the IDBI Bank loan. He allegedly pre-arranged loan approval with IDBI officials even though KFA had a negative net worth and a low credit rating. The loan was approved without collateral. KFA is also accused of overvaluing its brand to the bank, presenting a report that valued it at ₹3,46 crore based on future revenue projections, a detail not disclosed to IDBI.
Similar overvaluation happened with corporate guarantees. In November 2008, Mallya's United Breweries Holding stated its value at ₹36 crore when acting as a corporate guarantor for KFA, despite its net worth being only ₹55 lakh as of March 31.
The ED chargesheet further alleges that Mallya hid properties abroad. In 2010, when KFA loans were restructured, Mallya understated his assets, claiming only ₹1,395 crore instead of his actual ₹3,164 crore. The ED claims he deliberately concealed numerous properties in the UK, US, and other countries from the banks. And one more alleged fraud: between 2012 and 2015, Kingfisher Airlines collected over ₹100 crore in service tax from passengers but never deposited it with the tax department! 😡.
🎤 **"WILLFUL DEFAULTER" - A CRIME?** 🎤
Despite this long list of allegations, Mallya astonishingly claimed in the podcast that there were no criminal charges against him. He even stated that being a "willful defaulter" is not a crime. His definition: "Willful defaulter is a person who can pay and who doesn't pay. That's a crime". The host retorts: If someone has the money but refuses to repay, what else is that if not theft from the bank? 🧐.
📈 **THE MYSTERY OF THE LOAN AMOUNT** 📈
Mallya made another big claim: Banks owed him only ₹6,203 crore, not the ₹9,000 crore reported by media. He even asserted that ₹14,000 crore (two and a half times the alleged debt) had already been recovered. To support this, he presented a 2017 Debt Recovery Tribunal order from Bengaluru, which indeed showed ₹6,203 crore.
However, the document, which Raj Shamani also saw and linked in his YouTube video, clearly states: "...with further interest at the rate of 11.5% per annum with yearly rest from the date of the application that is 25th June 2013" 🤯. This means the ₹6,000 crore amount isn't the final sum; it accrues significant interest over the years, likely explaining the higher figures of ₹9,000 crore or even ₹14,000 crore reported in the media. So, Mallya's claim of only ₹6,000 crore debt is most likely incorrect. And importantly, any money recovered was forcibly taken, not voluntarily repaid. Freezing assets or recovering money doesn't diminish the fraud or crime.
🤝 **THE SETTLEMENT OFFER SAGA** 🤝
Mallya also claimed he made four settlement offers to the banks between 2012 and 2015, which they refused. "I made four settlement offers to the banks between 2012 to 2015. Yes, which they refused to accept". The host, however, couldn't find any evidence of such offers in news articles from that period. When asked for proof, Mallya cited Supreme Court records. The host challenges him: "Please show these proofs, these Supreme Court records, to the public" 🙏.
It is true that Mallya made four settlement offers around 2016. But his first offer, for only ₹4,000 crore, came *after* he had already fled the country and the media had declared him a fugitive. Interestingly, it was only in May 2020, during the COVID pandemic, that Mallya offered to repay 100% of the loan unconditionally. The question remains: If he wasn't personally bankrupt by 2016, why didn't he repay the full amount then, instead of offering a settlement only after fleeing? 🤔.
🗣️ **THE BLAME GAME & HYPOCRISY** 🗣️
Mallya also tried to shift blame to the government. He claimed that after the 2008 economic recession, he approached then-Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, intending to downsize Kingfisher and lay off employees. But Mallya alleged Mukherjee told him not to, stating that connectivity and jobs were crucial, and assured him that banks would support KFA. While this conversation cannot be verified as Pranab Mukherjee is no longer alive, it raises a point: Governments can advise, but they cannot control or force a private businessman's decisions.
This pattern is common among corporate billionaires: they take all the credit for success, but blame others (like the government) for failures. They expect taxpayer-funded bailouts after a business failure – a clear example of hypocrisy: "Capitalism जिंदाबाद for success, Socialism जिंदाबाद for failure!" 😂.
📸 **THE "POSTER BOY" PHENOMENON** 📸
Mallya argued that the media unfairly made him a villain. While it's true many businessmen default on loans and settle for less, Mallya's unique public persona played a role. The media glorified his rise as the "King of Good Times". But when his downfall came, he became a "poster boy" for financial crimes. Why him? Because of his actions:
* Employees suffered without salaries while he celebrated a ₹13 crore birthday bash 🥳.
* He fled the country while owing thousands of crores.
* He refused to pay, even as one of his employees’ wives tragically committed su***de due to financial distress, which Mallya dismissed as a "long-standing marital dispute" 💔.
These actions, not just media portrayal, made him the face of financial and moral bankruptcy.
🔚 **THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS** 🔚
Despite Mallya's elaborate defenses in the podcast, none of his claims prove his innocence. A recent Economic Times article published after the podcast confirms Mallya still owes ₹7,000 crore to banks. These accusations demand answers, ideally in a court of law.
Since Mallya is now so open to podcasts, perhaps his next interview should be with an experienced journalist like Ravish Kumar, Karan Thapar, or Sucheta Dalal (who exposed the Harshad Mehta scam) 🎙️. These interviews can even be on YouTube; no need for TV channels. But answering these crucial questions is absolutely vital! 🙏.
**Note:** TEvery statement and piece of information presented in this script is directly supported by the content within these sources,
