New Delhi / Vijay Mallya on paying back PSUs: Damned if you do and damned if you don’t is how I am treated

Days after slamming public sector banks for their “double standards” in bailing out debt-ridden Jet Airways, liquor baron Vijay Mallya Thursday said he is branded as a thief who stole PSU bank money despite offering to pay back.

Taking to Twitter, Mallya said, “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.”

On Wednesday, over 74 lakh shares of Mallya’s United Breweries Holdings (UBHL) Limited sold by Bangalore-based Debt Recovery Tribunal helped the Enforcement Directorate recover Rs 1,008 crore.

After a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India took over control of Jet Airways Tuesday, Mallya had accused the NDA government for the alleged differential treatment meted out to Kingfisher. Urging Indian banks to “take his money” and save Jet Airways, he said, his efforts to save Kingfisher Airlines was “not recognised and instead slammed in every possible way”.

The fugitive businessman also reiterated his offer to pay off dues through his assets.

Mallya is wanted in India for defaulting Rs. 9,000 crore in loans after his Kingfisher collapsed. Bogged down by a massive financial concern, the full-cost airline closed operations in 2012. Last month Mallya, who is wanted in India for alleged fraud and money laundering charges, had filed his application in the UK High Court, seeking permission to appeal against an extradition order signed by the British Home Secretary.