Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
In office
1 July 2010 – 2 May 2016[1]
In office
10 April 2002 – 9 April 2008
Constituency Karnataka
Personal details
Born (1955-12-18) 18 December 1955[2]
Kolkata, West Bengal[2]
Nationality Indian
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Sameera Tyabjee (divorced)
Rekha
Children Siddharth Mallya
Parents Vittal Mallya (Father)
Lalitha Ramaiah (Mother)
Occupation Businessman
Religion Hinduism
Signature

Vijay Mallya (born 18 December 1955)[2][3][4] is an Indian businessman and politician. The son of businessman Vittal Mallya, he is the ex-chairman of United Spirits Ltd, the largest spirits company in India and continues to serve as Chairman of UB Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests in beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate and fertiliser among others. He has been the Chairman of Sanofi India (previously Hoechst AG and Aventis) as well as the Chairman of Bayer CropScience in India for over 20 years, in addition to being the Chairman of several other companies.[5] He recently announced that he shall retire from the chairmanship of Sanofi India.[6]

He also co-owns the Formula One team Sahara Force India. His companies own Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bangalore, the I-League teams Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal FC. He is also a member of the World Motor Sport Council representing India in the FIA.[7] He is also known for having launched Kingfisher Airlines, an airline established as a major business venture in 2005 that later became insolvent and was shut down in 2012. Mallya also served in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, for his home state Karnataka.

Once called the "King of Good Times" and "the playboy of the East" due to his extravagant lifestyle, Mallya and his companies have been embroiled in financial controversies and difficulties in recent years, and especially since 2012.[8][9] Mallya left India on 2 March 2016 after saying he wanted to move to Britain to be closer to his children.[8] A group of Indian banks is trying to collect approximately ₹7000 crore (US$1.0 billion) in loans they said they have made to Mallya and his businesses,[8][10] and the Attorney General said that Mallya's assets abroad are "far in excess to loans taken by him".[8] The 17 banks petitioned the Supreme Court of India in March 2016 to try to prevent Mallya from leaving the country, but the Indian government indicated that he had already left. The Enforcement directorate of India also filed a money laundering case against him in March 2016 for allegedly sending abroad some ₹900 crore (US$130 million) that had been loaned to his airline.[8] The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya on 13 March 2016 for his failure to appear in the court regarding an allegation of cheating the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd by issuing them a dishonoured cheque for ₹50 lakh (US$74,000).[11] On 24 April 2016, the Ministry of External Affairs revoked Mallya's passport[12][13] and he resigned from the Rajya Sabha on 2 May 2016, the day before the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha was prepared to recommend his expulsion.[1]

Personal life

Vijay Mallya was born on 18 December 1955, the son of Vittal Mallya, a Konkani-speaking Goud Saraswat Brahmin from Bantwal and Lalitha Ramaiah. Vittal Mallya was the Chairman of United Breweries Group.[2][4][9] He was educated at La Martinière Calcutta, where he was appointed House Captain of Hastings house in his final year, and at St Xavier's College, Calcutta,[2][14] where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with honours) in 1976.[2][15] While in college, Mallya interned in his family's businesses. After graduating, he interned at the American part of Hoechst AG in the United States.

In 1986, he met and married Sameera Tyabjee, an air hostess of Air India. They have one son, Siddharth Mallya, who was born on 7 May 1987.[3][16] They were divorced shortly afterwards, although Mallya has stated in interviews that he has a "great relationship" with his first wife.[17] In June 1993, Mallya married his current wife Rekha, whom he had known since childhood, and together they have two daughters, Leanna and Tanya.[2][18][19] Rekha was previously married twice, and also has a daughter and son, Leila and Kabir, from a previous marriage.[4][19] Mallya adopted Rekha's daughter Leila.[3] On the subject of raising his children, Mallya said "My children are very dear to me. I am responsible as a father to play an active role in determining their future."[17] However, he also said "I wasn't a hands-on father. I hired good nannies for my children and left it to their expertise."[17] In contrast with Vijay Mallya's flamboyant lifestyle, his wife Rekha has maintained a relatively private personal life and has said she just prefers to spend her time with her daughters.[3][17]

Although generally characterized as having an extravagant lifestyle, Mallya was reported in 2005 to be someone who prays every day and conducts the entire 42-day Sabarimala fast every year while wearing only black clothing, and to be a devout follower of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living movement.[9]

Business

Mallya became the Chairman of United Breweries Group in 1983 at the age of 28, following his father's death.[5] Since then, the group has grown into a multi-national conglomerate of over 60 companies, with an annual turnover which increased by 64% over 15 years to US$11 billion in 1998–1999. He consolidated the various companies under an umbrella group called the "UB Group", spun off non-core and loss-making businesses and focused on the core business of alcoholic beverages. Over the years, he has diversified and acquired Berger Paints, Best and Crompton in 1988; Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers in 1990; The Asian Age newspaper and the publisher of film magazine, and Cine Blitz, a Bollywood magazine in 2001.[20]

United's Kingfisher beer has more than a 50% market share in India's beer market.[5] The beer is available in 52 countries outside India and leads among Indian beers in the international market.[5]

United Spirits Ltd, the flagship company of the UB Group, achieved the historic milestone of selling 10 crore (100 million) cases, becoming the second-largest spirits company in the world by volume under Vijay Mallya's chairmanship.[5] In 2012, Mallya ceded management control of United Spirits Limited to global spirits giant Diageo, although he retained a minority stake in the business.[21] In February 2015 Mallya was forced to resign as Chairman of United Spirits, and he contracted to receive a $75 million severance payment as part of that deal, but the courts in India have blocked that payment.[22][23]

Kingfisher Airlines, established in 2005, was a major business venture launched by Mallya.[24] It eventually became insolvent and had to be closed down.[25][26] As of October 2013, it had not paid salaries to its employees for 15 months, had lost its licence to operate as an airline, and owed more than US$1 billion in bank loans.[21] By November 2015 the amount owed to the banks had grown to at least $1.35 billion, and there were other debts owed for taxes and to numerous small creditors.[22] As part of the Kingfisher collapse, Mallya is accused of being a "willful defaulter" under Indian law, including accusations of money laundering, misappropriation, etc.[22][27]

In March 2016, a consortium of banks approached the Supreme Court of India to stop Mallya from going abroad due to the pending money his companies owed them. As per media reports, he had already left India.[28] On March 13, 2016 a court in Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant for Mallya's arrest, but it appears he is remaining at his country estate near London, England, while his lawyer contests the warrant with a higher court.[29][30] On 18 April 2016, a special court in Mumbai also issued an undated non-bailable Arrest warrant against the businessman. This was issued in response to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate on April 15 before the special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.[31] There were allegations on him that he transferred ₹4000 crore (US$590 million) crore Indian rupees to tax havens.[32][33]

Political career

Mallya in 2010

Previously a member of the Akhila Bharata Janata Dal, Mallya joined the Subramanian Swamy led Janata Party in 2003 and served as its National Working President till 2010.[34][35][36] He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 as an independent member from his home state of Karnataka with the support of the Congress party and Janata Dal (Secular). In 2010, he was re-elected for a second term, this time with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)[37] and the JD(S).[38][39]

Auction purchases

Vijay Mallya is noted for his successful bidding in auction of items that are considered of great historical value to India. In 2004, he placed the winning bid of £175,000 for the sword of Tipu Sultan at an auction in London, and brought it back to India.[2] Subsequently, he bought 30 other items owned by Tipu Sultan from auction houses in the UK, including a cannon, other weapons, and personal items.[2] In March 2009, Mallya successfully bid for the belongings of Mahatma Gandhi[2] for US$1.8 million, in a New York auction that initially caused an uproar in India and its government tried and failed to prevent it from going under the hammer.

Awards

Mallya has received several professional awards both in India and overseas:

References

  1. 1 2 PTI (2 May 2016). "Vijay Mallya resigns from Rajya Sabha". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Vijay Mallya Rajya Sabha MP. Mallyainparliament.in (18 December 1955). Retrieved on 4 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Unseen Pictures of Vijay Mallya and Wives". Daily Bhaskar. 27 November 2012. Retrieved May 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Vijay Mallya". India.gov.in: National Portal of India. Retrieved May 2014. Archived 3 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Accounting Policy, Bayer CropScience Ltd.". Live Mint. Retrieved 2 June 2014. (section 4.1)
  6. ↑ "Will retire from Chairmanship of Sanofi India: Vijay Mallya". Act Now News.
  7. ↑ World Motor Sport Council
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Vijay Malya left the country". NDTV. 9 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Bhandari, B. (8 April 2005). "Vijay Mallya: Mr High Spirits". Rediff: India Abroad.
  10. ↑ "Vijay Mallya: King of bad times". The Times of India.
  11. ↑ "Hyderabad court issues non-bailable warrant against Vijay Mallya". The Times of India. 13 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "SBI seeks Vijay Mallya's arrest in Kingfisher loan default case". The Financial Express. 3 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "India revokes passport of Vijay Mallya who fled to London owing $1.3bn". the Guardian.
  14. ↑ Mathew, Fr. P.C., S.J., "Aims and Objectives", St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (accessed May 2014).
  15. ↑ Khanna, Sundeep. "Vijay Mallya: The tycoon who gave big business a bad name". livemint. Livemint.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Sid Mallya. "Sidhartha Mallya". Bornrich.com. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "My life is an open book: Vijay Mallya". DNAindia. 21 April 2006.
  18. ↑ Parliamentary Profile
  19. 1 2 "I do, I do, I do...". Times of India. August 28, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Diageo-USL deal puts to test Mallya’s credentials". Mint (newspaper). 9 November 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  21. 1 2 "India's Richest #84 Vijay Mallya", Forbes (accessed May 2014).
  22. 1 2 3 Narayan, Khushboo; Johnson, T A; Vikraman, Shaji (13 March 2016). "Vijay Mallya: Once upon a time there was a king". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  23. ↑ Rana, Preetika (8 March 2016). "Vijay Mallya’s Severance Payment From Diageo Halted by Indian Tribunal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Is Vijay Mallya India's worst businessman?", FirstBiz (First Post Business), 27 September 2012.
  25. ↑ "Non-bailable arrest warrant issued against Vijay Mallya", The Hindu, 12 October 2012.
  26. ↑ "Cheques bounce case: Warrant against Kingfisher, Vijay Mallya on GMR's complaint", CNN-IBN, 12 October 2012.
  27. ↑ "What is Vijay Mallya accused of?". The Indian Express. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  28. ↑ News. (2016). 13 banks move SC to stop Vijay Mallya but he has already left India. Economic Times.
  29. ↑ "Hyderabad court issues non-bailable warrant against Vijay Mallya". The Times of India. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  30. ↑ Suri, Sanjay (12 March 2016). "Vijay Mallya still at UK country home, seeks expensive legal opinion". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Mumbai court issues non-bailable warrant against Vijay Mallya in money laundering case". IANS (ABP Live). 18 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  32. ↑ "Vijay Mallya Allegedly Transferred Rs 4,000 Crore To Tax Havens by fooling everyone". Act Now News.
  33. ↑ Dev Chatterjee & PTI (15 March 2016). "Did Vijay Mallya's company transfer Rs 4,000 crores to a tax haven?".
  34. ↑ "Vijay Mallya joins Janata Party". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  35. ↑ India, Press Trust of (8 June 2010). "Vijay Mallya removed as Working President of Janata Party". Business Standard News. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "Steering clear of the limelight by Aravind Gowda". India Today. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  37. ↑ "BJP backs Vijay Mallya for Rajya Sabha". NDTV.com. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  38. ↑ "BJP, JD(S) join hands to make Mallya win Rajya Sabha seat". NDTV.com. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  39. ↑ "Karnataka political parties distance themselves from Vijay Mallya". The Economic Times. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  40. 1 2 3 "Genesis Profile Dr. Vijay Mallya Chairman". UB Group. Retrieved 3 June 2014. (p. 13)
  41. ↑ The Asian Awards Winners List. 3 November 2010. PRNewswire. PR Newswire Europe Limited (a United Business Media company). Retrieved 2014-06-03.

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