‘Don’t make me the villain, I have the best intentions’

NEW DELHI: Vijay Mallya wants to return to India but fears the time isn’t right as his words may be twisted in spite of his “best intentions” following a ` 9,000-crore loan default, the liquor baron has said.

In an email interview with the Sunday Guardian newspaper, the tycoon said he left India on a “personal visit with a friend” and appeared to shift the blame of the loan nonpayment to the banks.

“There was a lookout notice issued against me last year. But I didn’t ‘escape’. Why am I being portrayed as a criminal now?” he said. The businessman — who triggered outrage for leaving India in spite of a CBI probe and Supreme Court proceedings against his alleged financial misconduct — is known for his flashy lifestyle and often billed himself as ‘The King of Good Times’.

But his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines defaulted on a ` 900-crore loan, allegedly in collusion with IDBI bank employees, triggering a CBI probe and a case by the Enforcement Directorate.

“Loan defaults are a business matter. When the banks give out loans, they know the risk involved. They decide, we don’t,” he said.

I am an Indian to the core. Of course I want to return. But I am not sure I’ll get a fair chance to present my side. I’ve already been branded as criminal. I do not feel the time is right.

VIJAY MALLYA

“Our own business was flourishing, but plummeted suddenly.”

“Don’t make me the villain. I have the best intentions. I’m quiet because I fear my words will be twisted like of others.”

Last week, a consortium of 17 banks approached the Supreme Court to stop Mallya from leaving India, worried about the fate of their loans worth thousands of crores.

The court issued a notice to Mallya, seeking his personal appearance and impounding his passport, but by then, he had left India.