Vijay Mallya's big claim on Kingfisher crisis: Asked then FM Pranab Mukherjee to...

Chief of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya, who is facing trial for alleged fraud and money laundering amounting to ₹9,000 crore, sat down for a candid four-hour conversation with podcaster Raj Shamani. Released on Thursday, the episode featured Mallya opening up about the downfall of Kingfisher Airlines, attributing its collapse largely to the 2008 global financial crisis.

Speaking about the period, Mallya said, “So agreed then it worked in your favour till 2008. What happened then? Simple. You ever heard of Lehman Brothers? You ever heard of the global financial crisis, right? Did it not impact India? Of course, it did.”

He elaborated that the crisis had a widespread impact across all sectors, not just aviation, saying, “Every sector was hit. The money stopped. It got dry. The value of the Indian rupee also took a hit.”

Recounting his efforts to save Kingfisher, Mallya shared that he approached then-Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. “I went to Shri Pranab Mukherjee... and said I have a problem. Kingfisher Airlines needs to downsize, cut the number of aircraft, and lay off employees, as I can’t afford to operate under these depressed economic circumstances,” he said.