UK court orders Vijay Mallya to be evicted from London home on outstanding loan

The 18/19 Cornwall Terrace luxury apartment opposite Regent’s Park in London, described in court as an “extraordinarily valuable asset worth millions of pounds”, is currently occupied by Mallya’s 95-year-old mother, Lalita.

In virtually rendering his ruling for the Chancery Division of the High Court, Deputy Master Matthew Marsh concluded that there was no ground to grant the Mallya family further time to repay the 20.4 million GBP loan to UBS – the claimant in the case.

Deputy Master Marsh ruled, “The claimant’s position was reasonable …

“I will also add from my review of the correspondence, I see no ground for the suggestion that the claimant has misled the respondent in the first [Vijay Mallya]…Finally, I dismiss the application of the first respondent,” he said.

The judge also refused to appeal his order or grant a temporary moratorium on enforcement, meaning UBS could proceed with the possession process to realize its unpaid dues.

“I will refuse permission to appeal and therefore it follows that I will not grant a stay,” Marsh said.

Mallya’s barrister, Daniel Margolin QC, indicated that the 65-year-old businessman plans to appeal before a High Court Chancery Division judge because of “serious consequences” for its clients, including Mallya’s elderly mother who Currently resides at the address.

Meanwhile, Fenner Moran QC clarified that UBS intends to proceed with the enforcement order without delay.

The case pertains to a mortgage taken by Rose Capital Ventures, one of Mallya’s companies, in which the former boss of Kingfisher Airlines, his mother Lalita and son Siddhartha Mallya are listed as co-respondents along with possession of the property. it was done.

In May 2019, Judge Simon Barker passed a consent order allowing the family to retain possession with an April 30, 2020 deadline given for repayment of the loan. Having failed to meet that deadline and with special regulations in place in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, UBS was legally unable to pursue enforcement until April 2021.

When the bank sought a court order for enforcement in October last year, Mallya filed a stay application on the ground that the bank had placed “unreasonable obstacles” in his way to repay the amount through the family trust fund. . His legal team sent a non-binding letter claiming that a company was willing to acquire the assets, which would help pay off the debt.

However, Deputy Master Marsh concluded that the letter was of “limited assistance” and expressed “genuine doubts about the genuineness of that offer”.

Under the May 2019 order, UBS was given “immediate right of possession” and no further applications were allowed to “defer or suspend the date of possession” to Mallya and co-defendants.

The court order also forbade any further claims arising out of bankruptcy proceedings against Mallya by a consortium of Indian banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI), proceedings which were concluded in a bankruptcy order in July last year. .

Meanwhile, Mallya is wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering. 9,000 crores related to the loans given to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The former head of United Breweries remains on bail in the UK, while a “confidential” legal matter, believed to be related to an asylum application, is resolved after separate extradition proceedings.