Indian banks seize assets from mogul Mallya: report
Indian banks have begun seizing assets controlled by Indian business mogul Vijay Mallya who could lose his luxury Goa holiday home over debts run up by his failing airline, a report said Monday.
Lenders to his Kingfisher airline took possession of one of the group's corporate offices, Kingfisher House, in suburban Mumbai, the Economic Times said, quoting an unnamed bank official.
Mallya's parent firm, United Breweries, is in a battle with the lenders, seeking damages of around 45 billion rupees ($730 million) and arguing they have no right to sell the assets.
Kingfisher's spokesman Prakash Mirpuri told AFP the company would not comment "on any matter which is sub judice".
Mallya, a one-time billionaire known for his flamboyant lifestyle, made his fortune in the family liquor business and controls an empire spanning beer, Formula One, fertilisers and engineering.
The carrier, whose planes have been grounded since October, has never made a profit since it began flying in 2005 and owes vast sums to banks, airports, fuel suppliers and staff.
"Banks have already recovered some money (owed), selling shares and would also look at attaching other physical assets, including Kingfisher Villa in Goa," the financial newspaper reported, quoting the official as saying.
Shares in Kingfisher fell as much as 4.82 percent, before recovering marginally to close at 3.91 rupees, down 0.76 percent.
Lessors have already taken back most of the planes Kingfisher operated, as they were on lease, according to India's civil aviation regulator.
Kingfisher has a number of real estate assets that it put up as collateral against its loans, including its offices in Mumbai.
In February, banks started recalling the outstanding loans, estimated at $1.5 billion, which paved the way for the sale of Kingfisher assets held as collateral.
Kolkota-based Telegraph newspaper reported that lenders, as part of the loan recovery plan, have already sold some shares of Mallya's United Spirits and Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, held as collateral.
Mallya shut down his low-cost airline, Kingfisher Red, in September 2011 to try to staunch losses.
With operations of the main Kingfisher airline closed since last October, it is unclear how many of the airline's 4,000 staff -- most of them unpaid for months -- are still employed.
Mallya is reportedly still keen on finding an outside investor to help get the carrier back into the air.
