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He owned an airline, an IPL team, Formula One, and the attention of all of India. Today, that same king stood outside a London court, and the world was calling him by only one name. "Mr.
The fall of Vijay Mallya's empire, exposing financial fraud, unpaid salaries, and the fight to recover public money.
Key Takeaways
- Financial mismanagement and fraud can collapse even the most prestigious empires.
- Legacy and brand value cannot replace sound financial practices and responsibility.
- Public money was misused to sustain a failing luxury airline, impacting honest employees severely.
- Legal and investigative efforts are crucial to recover stolen public funds and hold powerful individuals accountable.
- Ignoring harsh financial realities for pride or image can lead to catastrophic consequences.
What the video covers
- Vijay Mallya once owned Kingfisher Airlines, an IPL team, and Formula One, but faced legal battles in London as a fugitive accused of massive loan defaults.
- Kabir Deshmukh is the key investigator determined to bring Mallya back to India and recover the public money lost.
- Kingfisher Airlines was financially sinking with diverted loans, unpaid employee salaries, and operational losses concealed through complex accounting.
- Mallya prioritized legacy and luxury over financial sustainability, refusing to cut costs or lower prestige despite mounting debts.
- The acquisition of Air Deccan was a strategic move to obtain an international license by hiding losses and circumventing regulations.
- Employees suffered greatly, with unpaid wages leading to severe personal tragedies including suicide.
- The investigation revealed systemic fraud involving banks, auditors, and company officials who ignored or concealed risks.
- Mallya’s brand was valued highly but intangible, making loan recovery impossible from the brand itself.
- The case escalated to the use of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, freezing Mallya’s assets and barring his return to India.
- The video highlights the human cost behind financial scandals and the relentless pursuit of justice by investigators.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction: Vijay Mallya's Rise and Fall
- 02:44The Investigation Begins: Kabir Deshmukh's Pursuit
- 04:24Financial Irregularities and Employee Impact
- 06:09Boardroom Decisions and the Sinking Airline
- 09:39Strategic Acquisitions and Concealed Losses
- 11:46Legacy vs. Financial Reality
- 13:23Employee Struggles and Company Collapse
- 16:39Legal Actions and Asset Freezing
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Mallya, are you a fugitive? A loan default of thousands of crores? Did you run away from India? I didn't run away. I just moved on.
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You destroyed an airline. Employees didn't get their salaries. I didn't just give India a business. I gave it a lifestyle." He still believed he had done nothing wrong, and perhaps that was his biggest misconception. He had given the country a dream, but
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someone else was still paying the bill for that dream. Yes, behind every fallen empire there is a story that never gets televised. This man, Kabir Deshmukh, was the hero of that story.
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For him, Mallya wasn't just a name, just a number, a man he had to bring back to his country at any cost, and in that sense, there was no excuse now.
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Sir, can I ask you one thing? You've already asked. Now tell me, sir, why are you after such a big man?
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Mallya wasn't just a name for him. No celebrity, no businessman, just a calculation, a number that the country wanted back. I'm after money that didn't belong to him.
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And now this wasn't just an investigation. It was recovery. And there was no excuse in this calculation.
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Fraud isn't always committed with a gun. Sometimes fraud is simply a decision made between two files. One contained the truth, the other contained what everyone wanted to hear. Sir, Kingfisher Airlines' net worth is negative. The credit rating is near
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default. Auditors have flagged that a short-term loan of ₹4,630 crore has been diverted to long-term use.
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According to policy, this company is not eligible for a loan. Look at this. The Kingfisher brand valuation is over ₹4,000 crore. Some brands don't sink.
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Sir, this is an intangible asset. Loans can't be recovered from a brand. Improve the rating. Approve 900 crore rupees and shred this risk memo. That day, an officer didn't just erase a piece of paper. He buried 4,000 crore
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rupees behind a few people. And the public didn't even know where their money went. Until now, Kabir had only seen numbers. Today, behind those numbers was a face. Sir, my husband was an engineer with an airline for 20
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years. His only fault was that he was honest. We were told our salaries were stopped and we should be patient. Then they said TDS had been deducted and we should wait for the refund. In his last note, my husband wrote, "Sunita, my PF
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tax has been deducted, but it hasn't reached the government. So where did my money go?" The TDS deducted from a common man in a year was being used to fuel a private jet.
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This wasn't just theft. This was the death of an honest man, and no one even called it murder.
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Madam, your husband's taxes were paying the interest on his private jet. So, sir, who is responsible for my husband's death?
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Take your lunch, madam. I eat at home. Please leave this note here. The work has just begun.
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From that day, this case wasn't just a file. It became a vow. Before every empire collapses, there's someone who looks at the numbers and someone who refuses to accept them. Sir, operational costs are 40% higher than expected. Fuel prices are constantly
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rising. Maintaining the luxury airline model is becoming increasingly difficult. So what's the problem? Growth takes time.
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Debt is also rapidly increasing. Sir, honestly, this model won't last long. Great things take time.
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Sir, the numbers are saying something else. Those who understand numbers decide what the numbers say.
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Sir, reports say that losses are increasing. Of course, every growth story demands investment. If there's no risk, how will there be rewards? He simply wasn't ready to accept that everything was about to change, and that sometimes ignoring the truth was more dangerous
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than the truth itself. It's easy to be a king. Deep down, he knew it was difficult. Taj was no longer sustainable.
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Inside the boardroom, it was still a growth story. But on the runway, the truth was staring him in the face.
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No cash, no fuel. It's simple. Call HQ. 200 passengers are waiting. Release the fuel. Accounts are frozen, Captain. Arrange cash on the ground.
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I have 8,000, how much more will it cost, brother? There's a bill of 300,000.
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8,000 won't even light the landing lights. The airline that once sold champagne today didn't have enough money for a tank of fuel, and the debt it had taken on was being shouldered by its subordinates. Until now, Kabir had
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thought the theft had occurred within just one company. Today, an old file revealed a bigger picture.
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Sir, Air Deccan was a low-cost carrier. Kingfisher bought it in 2007. It's a standard expansion play, sir. Raghav, when someone buys a stock, the reason isn't the business. The reason is always the license. The acquisition value was taken at a premium of
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approximately 550 crores over fair market valuation. The operational losses of Kingfisher Airlines Limited are post-majority set off against the legacy structure of Kingfisher Airlines, thereby concealing the cumulative deficit from international route regulators. Did you understand?
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Kingfisher was sinking domestically. International routes required 5 years of domestic experience. Mallya had 3 years. So he bought a company with experience and used it as a shell. He hid the losses under Deccan and obtained a new passport international
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license that very day. Sir, the banks must have found out about all this. Yet, they gave the loan. They knew about it. It was even written down. Look, now look at the third memo: Natarajan's transfer order from Mumbai
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to Itanagar, six months later. Air Deccan wasn't a business deal, it was a passport; it was a shortcut that would have taken years. The path to getting there was secured with a single signature. Sir, who are we fighting
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against? Actually, whoever we're against will now have to face the document. And documents don't lie, Raghav, humans do. In this country, sometimes not only telling the truth but even writing the truth becomes a punishment. There are two ways to save
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a sinking company: either reduce expenses or lower your prestige. Mallya wasn't willing to do either.
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If we remove washrooms from the A320 fleet, an extra row of seats can be fitted. Will the yield be improved by 4%?
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How many seats? Sir, six. What? Should I ruin the entire experience for just six seats?
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Absolutely not, sir. That's what IndiGo is doing. Their model is profitable. Correct. And Kingfisher is memorable.
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My guests don't buy tickets. They buy experiences. My pilots will wear silk ties. My cabin crew will be world-class. And people will remember the journey on my airline.
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But these are the numbers I can see. The only difference is you're looking at the cost. I'm looking at the legacy. And legacy isn't built by compromising dignity. The board was looking at expenses. And Vijay Mallya's legacy. Everyone in this room knew the
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airline was sinking not because of debt but because of stubbornness. When a company sinks, people are the first to sink. It's been three months, sir.
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Salaries haven't been paid. Our junior technicians don't even have the money to come to the airport. How can we fly in such conditions? Gentlemen, understand one thing: if flights don't operate, management will have no option but to shut down the airline.
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You only pay when we demand it at gunpoint. Without the board's permission, you won't get a salary. If you want to quit, the door is open. They weren't asking for resignations. It was a ploy so that when the company collapses, the blame
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falls on the pilots. We gave our lives for this airline, and your boss is partying in the yard.
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Those who gave their lives for this airline have become the easiest targets today. Some deaths don't happen through accidents; hope slowly fades. Om Om.
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The wife of a Kingfisher Airlines employee in Delhi committed suicide. The note stated that she hadn't received her salary for five months. It had become difficult to run the household. There was
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sometimes silence becomes the easiest way to escape the truth. Kabir had neither power nor money. He had only one question: Where is my money?
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Officer Deshmukh, I've heard a lot about you. Chai Sir, I've just had your tea. The public's tea is the public's money.
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Brand valuation is an accepted accounting practice. Officer. Coca-Cola's brand value is in the billions. Apple's, sir, wait a minute. I picked this cup up from the trash at the Mumbai airport yesterday. Its market value is ₹ 2.
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The logo on this cup is the same logo you considered collateral worth ₹ 4,000 crore. Sir, you gave away ₹ 4,000 crore of public money by mortgaging a logo. I am the public.
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Where is my money? Jai Hind, sir. Get out of the building. Right now, sir, I have a warrant. Documents are being seized.
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Kabir, listen, you're overreaching. This isn't just a bank case. Some decisions come from above the Parliament. Sir, if there's anyone above Parliament, they too belong to my country. Wrong is still wrong.
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Come out, Kabir. This is the final order. Not the final request. Officer, we will cooperate with you in the future. In writing, through the proper channels.
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Sir, please leave this cup here. The public's money will be remembered on your marble desk.
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Mr. Kabir? Yes. I heard you're working on a special case. This file might be useful to you.
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What's in it? You'll only know after seeing it. Who are you? And why are you helping me? An honest man like you. When everything is sinking, the only thing left is one's image.
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Vijay, you always know how to throw a party. I only understand one thing: life shouldn't be boring. So celebrate it.
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Sir, the court has ordered the seizure of the villa. Let them take the bricks.
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They can seize the house. They can seize the planes. But the brand is beyond their reach. Tell the band to play louder. On one side there was a celebration, on the other a ruined house, and both were from the same
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airline. The King never gives up. He changes the game. He still believed the brand was his. But the truth was someone else was paying the bills.
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Until now, the threat had been limited to Kabir's work. Tonight, it had reached his doorstep. Officer Deshmukh greets Mr. Mallya. He's impressed with you. You're highly praised, hardworking , and honest. This combination is rare these days.
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Every person has a price. It's the oldest rule in the world. Your daughter, Ananya, is a third-year BA Honors English Literature student.
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She prefers cappuccino over filter coffee. Today, her professor cancelled four lectures. Mr. Mallya believes you're an honest man. He understands the value of honesty. So, there are some offers for you. One, a full scholarship to Oxford University for
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Ananya. Another, a Masters or PhD, whatever she wants to do. Two, an offshore account in the islands in the name of Mrs. Deshmukh. Initial balance $ 1.2 million, tax-free. A formal job offer: Senior Consultant, UB Group Risk Advisory, Mumbai Bandra Walli Sealing.
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Annual salary Rs. 2 crore, joining when you want. Kabir respects talent; He seizes mine, so I also seize his talent . That talent should not be basement waste. But that night, Ranveer met a man whose price no one could have.
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Khurana ji, how long have you been in this job? 12 years as an officer.
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So you must have learned that every person has a price. Right. Absolutely, sir. This is a basic principle of the world. So today you met a man who was never bought. Tell your boss, Kabir Deshmukh neither drinks his beer nor takes his money,
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but he definitely reads his files. And one more thing, my daughter's CCTV feed must be unavailable by tomorrow morning , otherwise the first case will be filed against you, not him. He was scared because honesty isn't the absence of fear; honesty is choosing
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the right thing despite fear. People used to line up to meet this man . Today, this same man was chasing a minister in a corridor.
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Tyagi, Tyagi, please, just a minute, I'm talking about a settlement. Interest restructuring is possible. I have a proposal ready. Vijay, you ignored the banks for three years. What hope do you have of Parliament now?
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This isn't a debt recovery tribunal. Don't come here to escape your lenders. He ignored the banks for three years.
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Today, no one was willing to listen to him. When power leaves you, the first thing it does is close the doors. A house that once filled with 100 guests now echoes with the ticking of a clock.
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The banks will go to the Supreme Court tomorrow. A petition will be filed for a travel ban. A decision will have to be made by tomorrow. The decision has already been made. He will fight. A battleground is needed. This is not a
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battlefield, but a trap. He wasn't calling it defeat; he was calling it strategy. I played a big game. Perhaps the system couldn't handle it. He can still stay. A king doesn't stop; he just changes his position, because everyone gives a
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better name to his retreat. But truth doesn't change by changing its position . Truth always follows. The place has changed, the game has. For four years, Kabir was one step behind.
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Today, for the first time, he took a step forward. Sir, the money came out of the DBI account. First hop: Kingfisher Airlines current account, Vakola branch. From there, Rs. 850 crore was transferred to a vendor, World Wide Aviation Fuel and Logistics
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Services Limited. Sir, the money stopped in Mauritius for just six hours , then was sent to the Cayman Islands to a company called Continental Administrative Services Inc.
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Continental's registered office, sir, is a PO Box. All of them are nominee directors of the Cayman law firm, and there are three directors on the board. Sir, from Cayman, the money went to London. Watson Limited Incorporated 2009, registered at 27 Old
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Gloucester Street. 27 Old Gloucester Street, sir, has been found to be a shell company. 11,000 companies are registered at that address.
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Oh my god, 11,000 companies at one address, sir! This isn't an office, it's a hub for shell companies. There's business here. Sir, we've found the last hop. WhatsApp Limited used the money. A single purchase, asset acquisition, a vehicle. Sir, this is the Indian
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Empress 95 meters. Built in 2006. Value at the time of purchase was 95 million euros, roughly 700 crores. Registered owner is Watson Limited, London. That means the DBI loan that was sanctioned for the airline's diesel. We seized it.
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The money that was supposed to go into the airline's tank was found on the deck of a yacht. The money that was supposed to go into the diesel tank was found on the deck of a yacht.
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Sir, you didn't refuel the airline, but you put a lot of diesel in the yacht. You have 95 meters, two swimming pools, a helipad. For the first time, the theft wasn't just a number. Now that director was clearly visible.
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I need a meeting today at 6:30 in the morning, and there's a word in the file : fugitive. I have to start using this word from today.
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Sir, Vijay Mallya has booked a Jet Airways flight for 1:00 tonight. Delhi to London on a 9W12 diplomatic passport . We can stop him in 14 hours. All we need to do is detain the lookout circular category. Right now it's on
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the intimation only section. Just tick here. I'll send your signature to the FRRO in 5 minutes. An alert will be sent to the immigration desk. Check this. This is proof.
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Kabir, sit down. Sir, I don't have time . Kabir, the file has the procedure. A ministerial review is required to upgrade the lookout. The Home Ministry's external affairs standard. You know, sir, the window for ministerial review is 24 hours. His flight is in 14 hours.
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So what should we do, Kabir? Break the procedure. Kabir, don't go to the airport. You shouldn't be there. It's a matter of our honor.
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Sir, a man who sells his honor looks like you tomorrow. I don't want to look like you.
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Kabir, stop. The circular says it's information only, not detention. Let him go. The Biggest Points: Breaking News: Vijay Mallya Has Reportedly Left India: As long as a man is powerful, everyone wants to sit at his table, and the day
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he falls, everyone refuses to associate themselves with him. The man who was supposed to be stopped has crossed the Indian border. Biggest Sir, you had a close relationship with Mallya.
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I have nothing to do with him. Absolutely none. Until yesterday, he used to party with these same people.
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Today, these same people are refusing to recognize him. When you're winning, everyone is with you. When you start losing, everyone forgets. The king is alone. That's the biggest lie of power.
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It never lets you feel alone as long as you have it. This was the same yacht where the world's rich once partied.
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Today, a piano played by itself in an empty room. It's been three months. The fuel is running out. The local suppliers cut off. My crew hasn't received their salaries since June. We are absent here. The crew hasn't received their salaries for three
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months. The same story as at the airline. Only the place had changed. The people were the same. He left 40 of us, $ 1 million, on board, to starve.
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On one side was a sinking ship, and on the other, that man was watching cricket. Formula One was his most cherished dream. And today, that dream was slipping from his grasp.
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Vijay Sir, Jio filed for administration . The court accepted it. The team is no longer yours.
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Sir, Jio took away my driver and my team. We had to save the jobs of 400 people, Vijay. He says he did it to save the team.
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I made that boy an F1 driver from nothing, and the driver he himself had helped to reach Formula One made this decision. But Perez didn't do this to bring him down. He did it to save 400 people. Mallya dreamed for the people.
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Perez stood up for the people, and perhaps that was the biggest difference between them. This man had been loved by crowds all his life. IPL stadiums echoed with his name. Today, the same crowd gave him a new name. "Be managed
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by your country, open up, look at him, get the shot, Mr. Mallya, answer for 9000 crores to the Indian taxpayer." What do you call someone who leaves the country with public money? I'm not going to answer your question.
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Get me to the car. The court's decision is still years away, but the public's verdict has already come, and in the public's court, one doesn't get a chance to explain. Extradition, expose, misteria, to reproductive conditions below acceptable human rights standards
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, but one would like to see demotion, doctoria. The courtroom had become a bizarre spectacle. A man accused of 9000 crores was arguing about prison facilities.
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The Indian government appears to have prepared, quiet, comfortable accommodation, Doctor Mallya. Indian banks have lost their common sense, cheated by a glamorous, flashy, famous, well-mannered, bodyguarded, sensibly, billionaire playboy. The judge told the whole story in a single line. The banks hadn't lost their money
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. They had lost their sanity behind a glitzy facade. From the outside, it was a free man's home. 30 acres of manicured lawns, 200 cars. But from the inside, it was a prison. His phone had to be on 24 hours a day. The bail
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condition was an invisible chain. The man who once called out to the world, today, couldn't even invite anyone to his son's wedding. I remember everything, but now only this. He had escaped and landed in another prison.
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The only difference was that this prison's walls were made of gold. Friends, this is the report based on which the Government of India has taken historic action against Vijay Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. We have frozen his assets worth
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₹ 9,000 crore globally. Now he's not a businessman, just a historical fugitive. Sir, they sidelined you. They let him go. And now they're making heroes using your report. Sir, this is not justice.
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They didn't mention your name then. This was your fight, sir. Let him take it, Raghav. Let him take the credit.
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The applause at the press conference will be forgotten in a week. In a week, everyone will forget who went, who came , who said what. But look at this, right now, his every asset is frozen globally. In Mauritius, in Cayman
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Islands, in London. His yacht, the Indian Empress, is impounded in Malta. His paintings, his Force India deuce, his IPL royalties, his distilleries— that man has fled from one country to another. But now he has nothing he can call his own. He didn't run away,
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Raghav. He was locked in a golden cage. London isn't his home, it's his prison.
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And now he can never come home. But sir , you should have gotten the credit.
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Your name should have been mentioned. Raghav, a hunger for credit is a problem for someone who works for others. I work for this country. This country pays my salary. This country is my home, so why deserve credit? If you
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want credit, it's from the one who gets his money back. No guns, no chess, no handcuffs, but paperwork was enough. In the end, it was paperwork that caught him. India needs more officers like Kabir Deshmukh to prevent people like
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Mallya from exploiting the system. With this passion, Kabir begins working on his next case.
Topics:Vijay MallyaKingfisher Airlinesfinancial fraudloan defaultIPL teamFugitive Economic Offenders ActKabir DeshmukhIndian business scandalairline collapsepublic money recovery
