What Vijay Mallya Claimed in His Podcast—and What the Records Really Show

From denying allegations of money laundering to blaming banks for not paying Kingfisher employees, Vijay Mallya spoke on several issues. But do his claims have any factual basis? Outlook Business decodes them using publicly available documents, court orders in related cases and insights from legal experts

“I did not borrow one rupee from anybody,” claimed the former promoter of United Breweries and founder of Kingfisher Airlines in a four-hour-long podcast with Indian YouTuber Raj Shamani earlier this month. Much of the interaction centred on his defence in a ₹6,203.35 crore debt case, where he claimed that Indian authorities had already recovered over ₹14,000 crore—more than twice the amount he owed.