Tired of pursuit, ready to settle loans, says Vijay Mallya

He noted that ED had attached assets belonging to him, his group companies and companies owned and/or controlled by his family valued at approximately ~13,900 crore.

“Recovery of loans is a civil matter which has been criminalised in my case. The CBI and ED moving aggressively to recover bank loans is unprecedented despite my best intentions to settle with the banks,” he said.

His conduct since the allegations surfaced did not amount to “wilful default”, he added. In the letter to Modi, he said was pained to see he had become the poster boy of all bank defaults, “accused of looting public money and fleeing the nation”.

“I have also become a political pawn about whom politicians across party lines make reference to in public statements to ether influence the electorate or set an example before several other industrialists whose companies are facing financial stress,” he wrote to the Prime Minister.

Mallya’s objections to his extradition are based on four issues: the absence of a prima facie case; extraneous considerations; human rights; and the abuse of process.

These relate to an alleged political witch-hunt, prison conditions in India breaching human rights, inability to get a fair hearing in court and the lack of a case to answer.

IN A LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER MODI, MALLYA SAID HE WAS PAINED TO SEE HE HAD BECOME THE POSTER BOY OF ALL BANK DEFAULTS, ‘ACCUSED OF LOOTING PUBLIC MONEY AND FLEEING THE NATION’