Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has been in the news again for over a week. It started when he posted on X (formerly Twitter) after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings in an IPL 2025 match. Many people reacted online with jokes like “Ghar Aaja Pardesi,” hinting at his long stay away from India.Then, Mallya shared another post congratulating RCB for winning the IPL title. This was followed by a podcast interview with YouTuber Raj Shamani, which got a lot of attention.

After the podcast, some well-known personalities like IPL founder Lalit Modi and businessman Harsh Goenka supported Mallya. Their support led to speculation that he might be planning to return to India. Vijay Mallya, who owes Indian banks around ₹9,000 crore, has spoken publicly for the first time in nine years. In a recent podcast, Mallya said he is “deeply sorry” to former employees of Kingfisher Airlines who didn’t get their salaries. “I take full responsibility. I have no excuses,” he said.

Later, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), he repeated his apology and said the podcast was his way of sharing the truth and setting the record straight. Mallya also talked about how Kingfisher Airlines collapsed. He said that in 2008, during the global financial crisis, he wanted to reduce the airline’s size to save money. But when he spoke to then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, he was told to continue and that banks would help him. “That’s how it all started,” he said.

He also criticized India’s business environment, saying there’s no real “ease of doing business” and that red tape and politics make things difficult. Talking about his beer brand Kingfisher, he said running the alcohol business in India was tough. Each of the 29 states has its own liquor rules, and he had to stay on good terms with all chief ministers. He claimed elections were especially hard, with politicians treating the liquor industry as a source of campaign money.