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India's Kingfisher baron rejects claims he 'absconded'

India's Kingfisher baron rejects claims he 'absconded'

By REUTERS

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya waves in the paddock during the third practice session of the Indian F1 Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on October 27, 2012. Photo.: Reuters/ File

Indian entrepreneur Vijay Mallya, who left the country as banks sought to recover more than $1 billion owed by his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines, has rejected suggestions he was an absconder and said he respected the law of the land. Mallya, a former billionaire who built his fortune on Kingfisher Beer and a current member of parliament, left India last week. More than a dozen banks - led by the country's biggest, State Bank of India - had appealed to the country's Supreme Court asking that he be prevented from leaving. 'I am an international businessman,' Mallya said in a series of postings on his official Twitter account on Friday. 'I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder.'

I am an international businessman. I travel to and from India frequently. I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder. Rubbish.

— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) March 10, 2016 Indian media has reported that Mallya, who is a guarantor to the Kingfisher Airlines debt, is in Britain and have said that he could be staying in a luxury residence in Hertfordshire, north of London. The businessman did not mention his location in his tweets, but said that as a member of parliament he would fully comply with the law. Kingfisher, once India's second-biggest airline, stopped flying in October 2012, leaving creditors, suppliers and employees unpaid. It owed banks 90.91 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) at the end of November. The Kingfisher creditors stepped up efforts to recover the debt after Mallya last month resigned as chairman of spirits maker United Spirits, a unit of Diageo Plc. As part of that settlement, Diageo will pay Mallya $75 million over a five-year period.