One look at the pictures circulating of the English mansion that Vijay Mallya is believed to have “retired” to and you are instantly reminded of the line from the blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises: “The rich don’t even go broke the same as the rest of us, huh?” In the film, Selina Kyle says this line in response to hearing that, though bankrupt, Bruce Wayne gets to keep his sprawling mansion and estates.
If indeed, Mallya has left behind a debt of nearly Rs 9000 crores in India and returned to his estate in Tewin in North London, then one can’t help but feel much like Selina Kyle.
After all, as The Times of India reports, the sprawling 30-acre estate has a tennis court and two swimming pools, all enclosed with high walls, metal gates and round-the-clock security. “State-of-the-art interiors and a battery of expensive cars accessorize the bungalow in the quiet, verdant English village,” according to an NDTV report.
Named “Ladywalk”, the estate was reportedly purchased by Mallya from Anthony Hamilton, father of F1 racer Lewis Hamilton.
TOI further reports that the house and its owner and possible current occupant, Mallya, have always been the subject of conversation in Tewin both because of the fancy cars he drives and the beautiful women that accompany him. Apparently known to the locals as “VJ”, “the rich man from India”, Mallya has been a familiar sight in the past. While the owner of a local pub talked about the few times Mallya "dropped in with some lovely looking girls", another person talked about the Lamborghini he often drives around.
Meanwhile, back in India, reports have emerged that another step of the action against Mallya has come too late. The Debt Recovery Tribunal ruled on March 7 that Mallya would not be able to claim his $75 million settlement from Diageo, since the banks to whom he owed money had first right to the settlement.
However, it now seems that more than half of that settlement, $40 million (around Rs. 275 crore) had already been paid to Mallya on February 25, with the remaining to be paid in equal instalments over the next five years.