The 62 year old liquor baron, Mallya had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2016 but did not receive any response. He has now issued a “comprehensive press statement” after two years of silence.
He states in his letter:
“The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) have filed charge sheets against me with various untenable and blatantly false allegations acting at the behest of the Government and lending Banks. The EDhavealso attached assets belonging to me, my Group Companies and companies owned and/or controlled by my family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) currently valued at approximately Rs. 13,900 crores. In summary, I have become the “Poster Boy” of Bank default and a lightning rod of public anger. I wrote letters to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on 15th April 2016 and am making these letters public to put things in the right perspective. No response was received from either of them.”
The liquor baron flew to the UK in 2016 and has been fighting against moves to extradite him to India to face trial. Mallya is wanted in India for defaulting on loans worth crores and also in a money-laundering case. He left India just when a group of banks launched efforts to recover unpaid loans from him. Since then, he has been living in a mansion near London and has been spotted in many events. Last year, he was arrested in London on an extradition warrant.
The fugitive businessman has also taken to social media and tweeted his press statement captioning it
“After two years of silence, I have decided to issue a comprehensive press statement”
The statement comes from Vijay Mallya after the ED moved to Mumbai court last week seeking to confiscate his assets worth Rs 12,500 crore and declare him a ‘fugitive offender’.