It’s been almost a week since Vijay Mallya left the country as banks approached the courts in a case of non-payment of loans worth Rs 7000 crore, and it has now been reported that he has offered an amount of Rs 2000 Crore, a fourth of what he has to pay, in order to settle all dues.

As the banks are making all efforts to recover the amount due, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has used stern words to warn Mallya of action, Vijay Mallya made an offer which the banks quickly refused saying, “We cannot accept such a small amount and have rejected the proposal,” according to a report by The Indian Express.

b’Vijay Mallya’

While the settlement offer may sound absurd, Mallya still claims he is the victim, alleging that him and his company were labeled willful defaulters on “technical grounds”. This comes as SBI has alleged that funds were diverted from Kingfisher Airlines to other UB group firms and that the parent company United Breweries had been “deliberately avoiding payment to lenders”.

Meanwhile lenders have decided to recover their money by all means possible, including putting trademarks and brands on auction, with the likes of Fly Kingfisher, Flying Models, Funliner and Fly the Good Times, going under the hammer, Business Standard reported.

b’Representational image’

Mallya and United Breweries have challenged the SBI order declaring him a willful defaulter in court, even as United Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have also declared him a willful defaulter.

According to the government, the liquor baron left the country on March 2, days before banks approached court to seek a travel ban against him.