UK/India: Chairman of UB Group attacks India’s Prime Minister

Vijay Mallya, ‘liquor baron’ and chairman of Indian beer market leader United BreweriesGroup (UB Group, Kingfisher), quoted in a tweet on Sunday India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi saying that the government has already confiscated assets of Mallya worth Rs 14,000 crores (INR 140 billion, approx. USD 2 bn), while he was just owing Rs 9,000 crores (INR 90 billion, USD 1.3 bn) to the banks. “So, the highest authority has confirmed full recovery. Why do BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] spokesmen continue their rhetoric?” he asks.

And he concludes in a second tweet: “I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM’s own statement. And he counters the allegations that he has fled from India to escape his creditors with the words: “Fact that I have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away.“

Mallya, who is wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges, has been living on bail in the UK since August 2017 (inside.beer, 30.6.2018). Last month, he had filed his application in the UK high court, seeking permission to appeal against an extradition order signed by the British home secretary.

Meanwhile, Heineken has increased its shareholding in UB Group by another 2.8 percent as reported by VCCircle on March 27. At the end of 2018, the Dutch brewer held already 43.7 percent of all shares of the company. The new share had been pledged under the Enforcmenet Directorate and wer part of 14 percent of shares formerly held by Mallya and group companies.

 

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