Mallya takes NRI plea, won’t give asset details

Armed with the NBW against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the Enforcement Directorate has approached the External Affairs Ministry seeking initiation of deportation proceedings against him in the Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case.

However, Mallya is sitting pretty in his luxury pad in Britain and quite unfazed at the development. Wanted in India for unpaid loans worth nearly a billion dollars, he has said that banks have no right to seek details of the as- sets owned by either his family or him abroad as he is an NRI since 1988.

"A statement of assets was confined to assets in India only, and overseas assets were not disclosed as NRI Vijay Mallya is not obliged to disclose these details even to income tax authorities in his tax returns," an affidavit filed on behalf of Mallya said.

Mallya had been directed by the apex court to disclose by April 21 the total assets owned by him and his family in India and abroad. The apex court had also sought an indication from him when he will appear before it.

In his affidavit, Mallya has further stated that his three children and wife are all US citizens; so they too do not need to disclose their assets. Also, overseas assets were not considered while granting loans."

Mallya, however, said to demonstrate his good credentials and also that of his companies, an aggregate of Rs 1591 crores can be deposited in the apex court. The affidavit further said that Kingfisher Airline was a genuine commercial business failure and denied that the loan advanced by the banks to the company were misused or "Mallyahas amassed assets/properties in the name of his family members or relatives or friends with the intention to avoid recovery of alleged dues by the banks." It further said UB Group of companies and its associates had infused large sums of money in Kingfisher Airlines "by way of loans, equity participation, liquidation of securities etc.’’