Vijay Mallya met Pinky Lalwani seven years ago and offered her a job in Kingfisher Airlines. (File)
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, who is fighting money laundering and unpaid loan charges, is set to tie the knot for the third time with former Kingfisher Airlines air-hostess Pinky Lalwani, news reports say. The liquor baron, known for his lavish lifestyle, fled India in 2016 and is yet to pay bank loans amounting to Rs 9,000 crores. Pinky Lalwani lives with him at his mansion in Hertfordshire, about an hour and a half from London. Vijay Mallya and Pinky Lalwani were recently spotted together to celebrate the third anniversary of their relationship. The two are almost always seen together at public events.
Vijay Mallya reportedly met Pinky Lalwani seven years ago and offered her an air hostess job in Kingfisher Airlines. According to news reports, Pinky Lalwani shares a close bond with Vijay Mallya's mother and has stood beside him during his tough times. She was also by his side in the extradition case at Westminster Magistrates Court in London.
The liquor baron's first wife Sameera Tyabjee was also an air hostess and their marriage lasted an year. He then married Rekha Mallya in 1993 and has three children from his two marriages: Siddharth, Leanna, and Tanya.
Vijay Mallya left India just as a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India started efforts to recover around Rs 9,000 crores loaned to the collapsed Kingfisher Airline. The 62-year-old is wanted in India on loan defaults to several banks but has repeatedly refused to appear before courts in India. He was arrested by Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant in April last year, and is out on bail.
In a recent hearing, a British judge said it was blindingly obvious that
rules were being broken by the Indian banks that sanctioned some of the loans to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.