After three failed auctions, fugitive liquor baron Vijaya Mallya’s luxury jet has finally been auctioned. The Airbus A319-133C bearing Mallya’s initials ‘VT-VJM’ in its registration number was auctioned by an official attached to the Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru.
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The American company was the highest bidder, closing the auction with a bid of Rs. 34.8 Crore ($5.05 million), after the auction, opened at $1.9 million. This bid is far greater than the earlier auctions held by the Service Tax Department. The bid by Aviation Management is subject to the approval of the Bombay High Court.
Mallya failed to repay his loans and the auctions were held to recover the dues owned by Kingfisher Airlines which is now in liquidation, to the Service Tax Department. Despite the aircraft’s luxurious interiors, the plane’s value was limited to just $1.9 million since it has been grounded for well over five years.
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The Bombay HC received a plea from the airport to remove the plane, and in April this year, the court directed the official liquidator attached to the Karnataka HC to sell the plane, saying it was their duty as Kingfisher was a Bengaluru-based airline. Airport authorities said that the airport was facing a space crunch and the parked jet was costing them between Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 per hour.
Meanwhile, PMLA Special court has summoned Vijay Mallya and others on August 27. The court has taken cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) plea to bring back Mallya under the new Economic Offender’s Bill. As per the ED application, Mallya owes banks around Rs 9,990 crore, as of May 2018.
