Fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya today released a two-year-old letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said in a statement he was “making every effort” to settle his dues to banks but he had been made the “Poster Boy” of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.
Breaking his silence after a long time, to state the “factual position in response to the controversy surrounding” him, Mallya said he had written letters to both the Prime Minister and the finance minister on April 15, 2016, to explain his side of the story. “No response was received from either of them,” he said in a statement.
“I wrote letters to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on 15th April 2016 and am making these letters public to put things in the right perspective. No response was received from either of them,” Mr Mallya said, justifying his first statement after a “long period of silence”.
He further said,”I have been accused by politicians and the media alike of having stolen and run away with Rs 9,000 crores that were loaned to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA). Some of the lending Banks have also labelled me a wilful defaulter”.
The liquor baron flew to the UK in 2016 and has been fighting against moves to extradite him to India to face trial. He said he was “tired of this relentless pursuit” by the government and its criminal agencies.
Mallya, who is currently fighting against extradition to India from the UK, also said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) have filed charge sheets against him “with various untenable and blatantly false allegations acting at the behest of the Government and lending Banks”.
The 62-year-old is wanted in India for defaulting on loans worth crores and also in a money-laundering case. He left India just when a group of banks launched efforts to recover unpaid loans from him. Since then, he has been living in a mansion near London and has been spotted in many events. Last year, he was arrested in London on an extradition warrant.
According to him, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate were “determined” to frame criminal charges against him.
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