New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday that Vijay Mallya should settle dues honourably with the banks or else be ready to face “coercive action” by lenders and investigative agencies.
“I don’t want to make any comments on individual cases but I think it’s a responsibility of large groups like his (Vijay Mallya’s) to honourably settle their dues with the banks,” he told a news agency.
He further said that banks have certain collaterals of group companies of Mr Mallya and will take legal action to recover dues that are in excess of Rs 9,000 crore. Mr Mallya had left India before the Supreme Court heard a case against him on March 2.
He also said the government has been trying to address the problem of non-performing assets in sectors such as steel, textile, highways and infrastructure, which are on account of economic slowdown.
