Mallya ready to pay back ` 4,000cr by September

LOANS OF ` 6,903CR Lawyers make offer to consortium of 17 banks in SC

NEW DELHI: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya offered on Wednesday to repay more than half of the Rs7,000 crore his nowdefunct airline owes creditors, signalling that debt recovery pressures from banks as well as a money laundering probe against him may be working.

Mallya’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that he is ready to pay by September Rs4,000 crore of the Rs6,903 crore taken as loans by Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). The offer will be a mix of cash and pledged shares of some of Mallya’s companies.

As on date, KFA owes Rs9,300 crore to banks and various government departments in loans, interests and other dues.

The offer was made to a con- sortium of 17 banks — led by the State Bank of India (SBI) — that approached the top court last month to recover its dues.

The court gave a week’s time to the banks to respond to Mallya’s offer. “If you want to reject it, do so,” the bench comprising justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman told the State Bank of India counsel. The court will hear the case next on April 7.

Mallya’s lawyers said an additional Rs2,000 crore will be paid if KFA wins two civil suits in Bangalore and Britain. “Banks should consider seriously what has been offered to them,” Mallya’s counsel told the court, adding that the proposal was sent to the SBI chairperson on Wednesday morning. Mallya’s counsel asked the proposal to be kept a secret as the “media vitiates the atmosphere.”

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