Vijay Mallya offers to clear all dues to banks

Mallya, who is wanted by the Indian authorities on fraud and money-laundering charges, offered to pay the banks the entire principal amount and asking them to waive interest.

A 17-member consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India is battling to recover dues of over Rs.9,000 crore from Mallya and his now-grounded Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya blamed his business failures on high crude oil prices.

“Airlines struggling financially partly becoz of high ATF prices. Kingfisher was a fab airline that faced the highest ever crude prices of $140/barrel. Losses mounted and that’s where banks money went. I have offered to repay 100% of the Principal amount to them. Please take it,” Mallya said in one post on Twitter.

Kingfisher shut down in 2012 after flying for eight years. Mallya pointed out in another post that his businesses, which included United Spirits and United Breweries Group, had been big contributors to the government’s coffers.