 "A file photo of liquor baron Vijay Mallya at Parliament")
Industrialist Vijay Mallya has expressed his intentions of returning to India, provided he is assured of his safety and freedom, The Economic Times reported on Monday. He has also made a new settlement offer to the State Bank of India (SBI), the report added.
Mallya chaired a board meeting of United Breweries (UBL) in Mumbai on Friday, with the industrialist logging in remotely from London. During the course of the meet, he also received backing from strategic partner Heineken.
“We expressed concerns over the various issues and Mallya has assured us that he is in serious negotiations with the banks to repay the loans as soon as possible. He has said he is willing to return to India to answer all questions but he has to be assured of his safety and freedom,” Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, an independent board member told the newspaper.
The industrialist assured the board that he was in talks with lenders. He was also backed by several members. “For now, the board stands by Mallya and sees no corporate governance issues and would monitor the progress until the next (board) meeting in August,” Sunil Alagh, an independent board member, told the publication.
On the issue of paying dues of employees of Kingfisher Airlines, Mallya is said to have told the board that his plan faced a hurdle due to Karnataka High Court order.
CY Pal, another independent board member said, “He also told us that he had tried to repay the Kingfisher Airlines' employee dues through United Breweries Holdings but was delayed since the Karnataka High Court has frozen the accounts and assets.“
Earlier last week, the United Kingdom declined India’s request for deportation of Mallya based on pending cases of money laundering in the country. However, it recommended that India adopt the extradition route to bring Mallya back to India.
