Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, who is wanted for financial crimes, made a claim on Wednesday that Indian banks have recovered more money than they originally owed him. In a post on X, Mallya stated that the banks have recovered₹ 14,131.60 crore from him, which is more than double the amount of the debt, which he said was₹ 6,203 crore. He questioned how the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the banks could justify taking more than double the original debt.

"The Debt Recovery Tribunal adjudged the KFA's (Kingfisher Airlines) debt at ₹ 6,203 crores, including ₹ 1,200 crores of interest. The FM announced in Parliament that through the ED, banks have recovered ₹ 14,131.60 crores from me against the judgement debt of ₹ 6,203 crores, and I am still an economic offender. Unless the ED and banks can legally justify how they have taken more than two times the debt, I am entitled to relief, which I will pursue," Mallya said.

The finance minister responds with details on asset recovery

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about recovering property from financial crimes during a recent discussion in the Lok Sabha. She mentioned some important cases where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has successfully seized and returned assets of people and companies involved in financial offenses. She said that properties worth about ₹ 22,280 crore have been returned to public sector banks in these major cases.

One of the biggest recoveries is related to Vijay Mallya. The finance minister said that properties worth ₹ 14,131.6 crore, which belonged to Mallya, have been given back to public sector banks. Other well-known financial criminals, like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, also had their properties returned to the banks.

In Nirav Modi's case, ₹ 1,052.58 crore was returned to both public and private banks. Similarly, smaller amounts were recovered in other cases, such as ₹ 17.47 crore from the National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL) scam and money from companies like SRS Group and Rose Valley Group.

Sitharaman made it clear that the government is committed to ensuring that anyone who commits economic offences will face consequences. “It is important to recognise that we have not left anybody in economic offences; we are after them. We will ensure that money that has to go to the banks goes back,” she said.

The finance minister also expressed optimism about India’s economic growth, saying that the second-quarter GDP figures were a “temporary blip,” assuring that the economy would continue to grow.