Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Vijay Mallya fails to convince UK court to reject Indian lenders effort to recover dues

EMBATTLED Indian business tycoon, Vijay Mallya today (17) failed to convince a UK High Court to dismiss an order related to money in one of his London bank accounts, dealing a blow to his efforts to prevent a consortium of Indian banks getting access to nearly £260,000.

In one of the many legal cases being faced by the 63-year-old liquor tycoon in the UK, Master David Cook ruled that an interim debt order in favour of SBI and other banks seeking access to funds in the ICICI UK bank account "should remain in force" but that the application to make it final should be adjourned until after the hearing of Mallya's pending bankruptcy petition.


The funds in the account will meanwhile remain frozen as part of the worldwide freezing order in favour of the Indian banks last year.

Mallya's lawyers had argued for the dismissal of the interim order on a number of grounds, including a claim that it was a "deliberate ploy" to prevent Mallya "reasonable" living expenses.

"I reject the proposition that the application for a TPDO (third party debt order) was a deliberate ploy to thwart Dr Mallya's ability to meet his ordinary living expenses and reasonable legal expenses which are permitted under the terms of the WWFO (worldwide freezing order)," Master Cook notes in his judgment.

"The relevant context here is that Dr Mallya is in a post judgment scenario where the Claimants (Indian banks) are attempting to enforce their judgment and discover the true extent of his assets. I note that Dr Mallya has made no voluntary payment to date… while continuing to incur substantial legal costs in opposing the Claimants' efforts to enforce their judgment," he said.

The case revolves around £258,559.79 held in a bank account with the ICICI UK, which is named as a third party in the High Court case.

It is among one of many orders pursued by TLT LLP, the law firm acting for the Indian banks, as part of efforts to recoup some of the £1.142 billion owed to them arising from proceedings in the Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) against Kingfisher Airlines and others.

The DRT case was registered in the UK under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 and went in favour of the Indian banks in an appeal in May 2018.

The banks have since also filed a bankruptcy petition against Mallya in the UK courts, which is being challenged by the former Kingfisher Airlines boss and is expected to come up for hearing around December this year.

Meanwhile, in yet another legal intervention, Mallya is seeking a stay of all enforcement proceedings which have been commenced since the presentation of the bankruptcy petition by the Indian banks in September last year, a hearing of which is expected next month.

The outcome of that hearing will determine the future course of the funds being sought by the SBI, Bank of Baroda, Corporation bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India, and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt Ltd.

(PTI)

More For You

OpenAI Restricts ChatGPT’s Image Feature After Viral Ghibli Trend

Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources

Getty

OpenAI limits ChatGPT’s image generation feature amid viral Ghibli image trend

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced temporary limitations on the company’s image generation feature in response to overwhelming demand driven by a viral trend. On Thursday, Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources, particularly its reliance on GPUs (graphics processing units). Altman revealed that the surge in demand for ChatGPT’s image generation tool has led to significant strain on the company’s infrastructure, prompting the introduction of temporary speed limits for users.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman shared the company’s response to the unexpected demand, stating, “It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. Hopefully won’t be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK-business-district-Getty
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Economic growth in 2024 slightly higher than estimated: ONS

THE UK economy grew slightly more than first estimated in 2024, according to official data released on Friday, providing a small boost for the government after it revised down its growth forecast for 2025.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product expanded by 1.1 per cent in 2024, up from an initial estimate of 0.9 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

Sri Lanka's president Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

CASH-STRAPPED Sri Lanka’s economy grew by five per cent in 2024, marking the first full year of expansion since its unprecedented meltdown in 2022, official data showed last Tuesday (18).

The last quarter of 2024 saw the economy expand by 5.4 per cent, bringing the full calendar year’s GDP growth to five per cent, compared to a contraction of 2.3 per cent in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, 'What we’re going to be doing is a 25 per cent tariff on all cars that are not made in the US.'

Getty Images

Trump imposes 25 per cent tariffs on foreign-built cars

US president Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and auto parts, escalating trade tensions with key partners.

The new duties take effect on 3 April and apply to foreign-made cars and light trucks, with additional levies on key auto parts set to follow within the month.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Trump-Getty

The UK is negotiating a tech-focused trade deal with the US, which could help avoid direct tariff impacts.

Getty Images

UK economy faces pressure from Trump’s tariff threats

THE UK’s economy faces a major risk from US president Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, the country’s fiscal watchdog warned on Wednesday, citing slow growth and a high debt burden as key vulnerabilities.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced cuts to the welfare budget and other spending reductions to meet a key fiscal target aimed at reassuring investors after the 2022 market turmoil under former prime minister Liz Truss.

Keep ReadingShow less