'Guilty Without Trial,' Says Vijay Mallya, Accuses Government Of Biased Probe

New Delhi: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who owes banks Rs 9,000 crore in unpaid loans to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, today accused the government of pursuing a "heavily biased investigation" for what he said was a "genuine business failure".

"Appears as if these agencies are pursuing a heavily biased investigation and are already holding me guilty without trial after which I need to prove my innocence," Mr Mallya said in a statement issued to the press today.

The Enforcement Directorate yesterday attached Mr Mallya's properties worth Rs 1,411 crore in a loan default case, according to which, Mr Mallya owes the IDBI bank Rs 900 crore. He said criminal allegations were being connected to loan recoveries which were "purely civil matters".

"I have maintained and continue to maintain that there has been absolutely no misappropriation or diversion of funds and strenuously deny any allegation to the contrary," Mr Mallya said.

Mr Mallya, 60, had left for the UK on March 2 which he defended saying was as per his schedule and for a meeting later in Geneva. He has been reportedly living in London since. Mr Mallya said that at the time the Enforcement Directorate had not issued any summons to him. He said he had offered to appear via video conferencing after ED's summons and make statements under oath, despite which, Mr Mallya said, his passport was revoked.

"ED's latest move seems to be to approach the PMLA Court to declare me a proclaimed absconder for reasons that I cannot understand," he said.

Mr Mallya, an ex lawmaker who had resigned from the Rajya Sabha anticipating a likely expulsion, said that it was "sad and disappointing" that the Central Bureau of Investigation has constituted a Special Investigation Team or SIT to pursue the case.

"There is no rationale nor any legal basis for the series of actions initiated by the ED which is now making it more difficult to raise resources to pay the Banks," Mr Mallya said, adding, "Through all this I have still reached out to the Banks asking them to nominate a committee to sit across the table and negotiate a one-time settlement with us."