Indian businessman and former airline mogul Vijay Mallya has lost his latest legal attempt to overturn a UK bankruptcy ruling tied to more than £1 billion ($1.28 billion) in debts owed to Indian banks.
The Court of Appeal in London dismissed Mallya’s challenge on Tuesday, affirming a 2021 bankruptcy order that stemmed from the failure of his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Judge Anthony Mann, in a written decision, stated that “the bottom line… is that the bankruptcy order stands.”
Mallya, who has resided in Britain for several years, has faced multiple legal proceedings both in the UK and India since Kingfisher Airlines collapsed in 2012 under mounting debt. In 2017, a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India secured a judgment in India against Mallya for over £1 billion, which was subsequently recognized by UK courts. 
His legal team argued during a hearing in February that the banks had already recovered sufficient assets, suggesting that the debt had effectively been repaid. However, the UK court was not convinced.
Apart from the bankruptcy case, Mallya is also the subject of a long-standing extradition effort by Indian authorities seeking to bring him back to face fraud and money laundering charges related to Kingfisher’s financial downfall. While his last appeal against extradition was denied in 2020, Judge Mann noted in his latest ruling that the order “has still not been enforced” and that Mallya continues to resist extradition on other legal grounds.
Once known for his lavish lifestyle and high-profile ownership of the Force India Formula One team, Mallya’s fall from grace has become a defining example of the crackdown on high-profile defaulters by Indian financial institutions.
His legal representatives have not yet issued a comment on the latest decision.
