Mallya offers to pay lender banks `4,000cr by Sept

NEW DELHI: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya offered on Wednesday to repay more than half of the `7,000 crore his nowdefunct airline owes creditors, signalling that debt recovery pressure from banks as well as a money laundering probe against him may be working.

Mallya’s lawyers told the Supreme Court he is ready to pay by September `4,000 crore of the `6,903 crore taken as loans by Kingfisher Airlines. The offer will be a mix of cash and pledged shares of some of Mallya’s companies.

As on date, KFA owes `9,300 crore to banks and various government departments in loans, interests and other dues.

The offer was made to a consortium 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’s counsel. The court will hear the case next on April 7.

Mallya’s lawyers said an additional ` 2,000 crore will be paid if KFA wins two civil suits in Bengaluru 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.”

The bench was quiet on the request but said, “Media stands for public interest. In this case it only highlighted whether the banks are getting their money. After all it is public money.”

The SBI said it had received KFA’s offer for “settlement of dues” but didn’t confirm the amount.