Indian businessman Vijay Mallya lost his latest fight in court in the UK when a London judge threw out his appeal against an order of bankruptcy related to more than £1 billion of debt he owes to Indian banks such as the State Bank of India.
The bankruptcy order, initially made in 2021, is a result of a 2017 court judgment in India holding the tycoon personally responsible for the bills of his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. British courts later accepted the judgment, allowing legal action to be taken in the UK.
Mallya, now a resident of Britain for a few years, had appealed against the bankruptcy order in February. His lawyers argued that the consortium of creditor banks had already retrieved enough assets to substantially pay off the debt. However, on Tuesday, Justice Anthony Mann dismissed the appeal, writing in a judgment that “the bottom line … is that the bankruptcy order stands.”
Despite the setback, Mallya’s lawyers indicated that he would continue to seek legal recourse to overturn the decision.
A onetime high-flying Indian businessman and sportsman he was once a co-owner of the Formula One team Force India Mallya has been at the center of several legal cases since the 2012 collapse of Kingfisher Airlines.
Apart from the bankruptcy case, Mallya is also battling extradition to India, where he is accused of fraud and money laundering that led to the collapse of the airline. Though the UK sanctioned his extradition in 2020, the order is yet to be implemented.
Justice Mann recognized that Mallya “is still resisting extradition on other bases which have yet to be resolved,” indicating additional legal challenges remain in the years-long case.
The new judgment is the latest to deal a further blow to attempts by Mallya to dodge legal and financial repercussions both in India and Britain.