Time’s up for Mallya, he must repay his debts
The long arm of the law has finally caught up with India’s billionaire fugitive Vijay Mallya. It took two years and a long legal process which may still continue if the man decides to appeal the ruling. The former ‘King of Good Times’ is closer to being extradited to India where he will be investigated and tried by Indian courts in cases pertaining to fraud. The Westministers Magistrates’ Court in London passed the verdict on Monday. The Indian tycoon, last week, tweeted about his desire to repay the debt to Indian banks. Perhaps he was prescient and saw this verdict coming close on the heels of the extradition of British arms dealer Christian Michel by the UAE to India. Mallya could take his case to a higher court, but this ruling will give Indian investigating agencies a fighting chance against wanton corruption by the high and mighty. Corporate leaders had for long used their contacts and proximity to governments to do as they please with public money in government banks. The Mallya extradition verdict proves that they have few places to hide as security agencies crack down on white-collar crime.
The former liquor baron has been at pains to explain that he never stole the money. He simply borrowed it to keep his airline flying, he said in tweets last week. But that begs the question: why did he flee when he couldn’t repay his debtors? Why did he leave thousands of employees of Kingfisher Airlines without salaries for months? His family’s liquor business was also sold in his ambition to become the Richard Branson of India. Mallya blew it all when he took to the skies with an airline he didn’t know how to run. With his business empire slowly slipping away, Mallya tried his hand at being a politician. Sadly, even that didn’t save him and he made good his escape. This verdict could be used by the ruling party in India to tom-tom the fight against corruption. Michel’s extradition set it off. Mallya’s case could be a vote-grabber and shows political and legal resolve to bring smooth-talking billionaires and wheeler-dealers to face trial in India.