Vijay Mallya borrows money from partner, children for living expenses

File image: Vijay Mallya

Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya is insolvent and is living on money borrowed from his partner, his personal assistant, a business acquaintance, and children; a court said on March 3.

The billionaire’s partner Pinky Lalwani earns over 150,000 pounds (about Rs 1.35 crore) a year and Mallya himself has 328 million pounds (Rs 2,956 crore) in personal assets, all of which has been put towards a settlement, a Karnataka court said as quoted in a report by The Times of India.

According to Mallya’s lawyer John Brisby, the liquor baron is an insolvent.
In a response to a petition filed against him by a consortium of 13 banks, Mallya said in September 2018 that his children “support him,” the paper said.

According to the filing by the banks, Mallya received 84,000 pounds (Rs 75.7 lakh) and 128,000 pounds (Rs 1.15 crore) from his personal assistant and business acquaintance respectively “for living expenses and money owed to Inland Revenue,” the publication said.

Mallya owes $1.5 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore) to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India over dues owed by now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

He continues to spend 18,000 pounds a week in living expenses while incurring very significant legal costs, TOI quoted Nigel Tozzi QC, the lawyer representing the consortium, as saying.

Brisby told a court on April 3 that Mallya was willing to cut his expenses to 18,000 pounds (Rs 16.21 lakh) a week to 29,500 pounds (Rs 26.57 lakh) a month.

To fight the consortium’s claim, Mallya is also trying to get 260,000 pounds that is locked in his UK account.