Vijay Mallya mocks banks for saying he still owes money, shares report

Following news that IDBI Bank has entirely recovered its debts from the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya criticised banks for claiming he owed them money on Thursday. 

Vijay Mallya launched a tirade on Twitter and said, "And the Banks say I owe them money!".

He shared a report on IDBI Bank fully recovering its dues from now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

According to the news clipping, IDBI Bank recovered ₹7.5 billion from Kingfisher.

His Tweet comes after a British court awarded him a bankruptcy order, clearing the way for a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to seek a global freezing order to recover a debt due by Kingfisher Airlines. 

On July 26, the fugitive businessman claimed that the Enforcement Directorate is seizing assets "worth ₹140 billion at the behest of government banks against a debt of ₹62 billion."

Mallya also tweeted that the SBI-led consortium of banks had asked "court to make me bankrupt as they may have to return money to the ED," which he described as "incredible." 

The 65-year-old businessman remains on bail in the UK while a "confidential" legal matter, believed to be related to an asylum application, is resolved in connection with the unrelated extradition proceedings.

Mallya, who fled to the UK in March 2016, is wanted in India over a default of ₹90 billion that was loaned to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) by several banks. India has been seeking his extradition from the UK. He had in the past offered to repay 100 per cent of "public money" but accused the banks and government of refusing his offer. 

(With inputs from agencies)