Without naming absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government had seized ₹14,000 crore worth of assets of “a man who committed a ₹9,000-crore fraud and left the country”.
Mr. Mallya tweeted soon, asking why the BJP leaders were still targeting him though “the highest authority has confirmed full recovery” of his dues and more.
“What is the situation of those who committed fraud in India and fled abroad,” Mr. Modi said at the TV9 Bharatvarsh Conclave. “The man who committed a ₹9,000-crore fraud and left the country, his ₹14,000 crore and more of assets have been confiscated,” he said.
Tackling fugitives
“How was this possible?” Mr. Modi asked. “Because our government brought in a law that said that if anybody committed such a fraud, not only would all his assets in India be seized, but also all their assets abroad would be auctioned.”
Mr. Mallya became the first person to be officially designated a fugitive economic offender by the special court assigned for the purpose under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018.
Under the Act, the government can seize all the domestic and foreign assets of anyone designated a fugitive economic offender.
‘Why this rhetoric?’
Mr. Mallya tweeted: “Saw PM Modi’s interview in which he takes my name and says that even though I owe Rs 9,000 crores to Banks, his Govt has attached my assets worth Rs 14,000 crores. So the highest authority has confirmed full recovery. Why do BJP spokesmen continue their rhetoric?”
“I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM’s own statement about me (by name) that his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the Banks,” Mr. Mallya further tweeted. “Fact that I have been a UK resident since 1992 ignored. Suits the BJP to say I ran away.”
