NEW DELHI: A defiant
Vijay Mallya, who is facing money laundering charges in multi-crore fraud case in India, on Wednesday claimed that he
met the finance minster before leaving the country.
Speaking outside a London court, Mallya said, "I left because I had a scheduled meeting in Geneva. I met the finance minister before I left, repeated my offer to settle with the banks. That is the truth."
Arun Jaitley was the finance minister when Mallya left India in March 2016. He is also the current finance minister.
"I have said before that I am a political football. There is nothing that I can do about it. My conscience is clear and (I) put almost Rs 15,000 crore worth of assets on the table of the
Karnataka High Court ," he told reporters, while having a cigarette during the lunch break during the hearing for his ongoing extradition case at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airline boss, who has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, responded to the swarm of reporters gathered outside the court in his characteristic manner, saying the "courts will decide".
Earlier in the day, Mallya said that he had made a "comprehensive settlement" offer before the Karnataka HC that will help in paying off all his dues.
According to Mallya, he and the United Breweries Group (UBHL) have filed an application in the Karnataka HC on June 22, 2018, setting out available assets of approximately Rs 13,900 crore. They have asked the court for permission to allow the sale of assets under judicial supervision and repay creditors, including the public sector banks (PSBs) such amounts as may be directed and determined by the Court.
The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya.
It also seeks to prove there are no "bars to extradition" and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crore in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.
(With inputs from agencies)Read the story in Bengali
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