Exclusive — Vijay Mallya, fugitive billionaire, breaks his silence

I'm here in central London with Vijay Mallya one of India's most sellable tycoon's mr. Mallya who's made a fortune from various industries such as beer spirits cricket Formula One and football and at now-defunct airline Kingfisher is described by the Indian government as a fugitive from justice he's had his passport withdrawn mr. Mallya are you going to return to India and do you think you can reach a settlement with the banks I definitely would like to return to India right now things are flying at me fast and furious my passport has been revoked I don't know what the government is going to do next but I have always maintained that notwithstanding anything else I am interested in a settlement with the Kingfisher Airlines bankers and would like to repeat that I will reach out if they are interested in making a settlement and you've made an offer of four hundred and forty million pounds that is correct and are you prepared to go higher well the banks need to also consider the fact that there are other creditors who also need to be paid off and satisfied I can't possibly be seen to be giving preference to the banks just because of this extraordinary pressure being put on me by various government agencies who is behind the move to withdraw your passport I wish I knew are they faceless bureaucrats or is it the Prime Minister mr. Modi who is a noted austere figure all I can say is that the manner in which my passport was first suspended and then revoked is unprecedented and was done with extraordinary haste you heard about it on a Saturday evening absolutely by fax by email but be that as it may one hatch seven days to respond is that right well the first notice of suspension came on a public holiday last week I replied and my reply was not considered and the passport was revoked on Saturday do you think that you will have to sell down some stakes in other businesses in order to raise money to reach an overall settlement and would you be willing to do that I have already expressed my willingness to settle with the banks a settlement offer was proposed to the Honorable Supreme Court of India which obviously means it was a very serious offer and now the Supreme Court has directed the debt recovery tribunal to dispose of the main matter in two months but not withstanding that legal process my offer for settlement stands and what is the amount that you believe is the outstanding debt that is an as a result of the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines it 520 million the filings before the debt recovery tribunal by the consortium of bankers is of a principle amount of little over 500 million pounds the rest is towards unapplied interest and the banks say it's 900 million well I don't know whether it's a banks or the media or a combination of the two a dangerous combination indeed but that's how India is I or some have never been able to understand where this 9,000 crore or 900 million figure came from but as I said if there is reason and rationale all around I think the banks can be settled along with all the other creditors now you're known in the Indian media and in the Indian public as the king of good times you're often described as a flamboyant you've attended parties you travel around can you explain whether this is a you think this is a fair characterization or or do you think that actually you would just say a brand ambassador I think those who need to know certainly know that I have acted as a brand ambassador for my brands in a media dark environment which means there's a prohibition on advertising of for alcohol absolutely and this king of good times label was actually a slogan for the Kingfisher beer brand for whatever reason I was known as the king of good times and now of course indeed the king of bad times but you know it's past me now to figure out what I should have done or should not have done do you think you made any mistakes sure I must have made many mistakes I misjudged the public mood as it turned against the kind of flamboyant multimillionaires in business in in India you know we are in a democracy in India I have been labeled wilful defaulter which I just cannot understand we have invested over six hundred and ten million pounds into Kingfisher Airlines we tried everything conceivably possible to save the airline a combination of macroeconomic factors and then government policies oil went up unfortunately they could not save Kingfisher but notwithstanding all that I have lived my life in my normal way people think I'm flamboyant actually I'm quite simple that's quite a flamboyant absolutely there is nothing wrong and wearing a colorful piece of clothing but to cut a long story short I've worked hard all my life I want to try and settle with these banks and then live my life in peace and that's my focus right now do you think that you will ever be able to go back in to business in India why I currently have businesses in India which I don't intend to sell and these businesses are doing very well you asked me whether I could go back to India well if I had a passport I could but right now I'm in forced exile Vijay Mallya the forced exile the man described as a fugitive unit from justice but who is says he's willing to settle with the banks not only that willing to clear my name and prove to the agencies concerned that I am absolutely not guilty of any one of these preposterous charges of diverting funds out of Kingfisher Airlines and buying properties and stuff like that and just to be clear that's your contention you're absolute your word is that you have never diverted money from your companies overseas to fund either your family or your personal interests that is absolutely correct and forms part of my sworn affidavit before the Honorable Supreme Court of India and if our government so decides let them appoint the world's best forensic auditor to come and audit the accounts of Kingfisher audit how all the bank loans were utilized and I'm sure they're not going to find anything because that is the truth Vijay Mallya thank you for talking to the Financial Times Thanks you

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Keywords: business news, finance analysis, FT, Financial Times, finance news, international news, global news, Vijay Mallya, Lionel Barber, vijay mallya interview, vijay mallya financial times, vijay mallya ft interview, vijay mallya lifestyle, vijay mallya latest news, vijay mallya party, vijay mallya house, newshour, india, KingFisher, Cricket, football, networth, money, earnings

Id: 8jSM3CS3yw8

Length: 9min 6sec (546 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 28 2016