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The Fallout of the King of Good Times
Subject area: Management and Commerce · Area of research: Corporate Law & Accountability
DOI: 10.64388/IREV9I3-1710696-2847
Abstract
Vijay Mallya?s rise from fortune to misfortune is possibly one of the most exciting stories in contemporary India. Mallya?s transformation of the United Breweries Group to an empire flecked with glamour and excess earned him a place in history as the over-the-top ?King of Good Times?. His vision gave life to Kingfisher Airlines in 2005, but it was not a means of transport; it was an extension of Mallya himself, with the aim of being lavish, provocative and embodying Mallya?s character. Airline was a significant part of Mallya's vision. However, oblivious to the excesses, the Mallya?s reportedly unchecked growth with absent management and financial discipline, transformed a revelry into catastrophe. Mallya, who once strolled about boardrooms and political gatherings, saw a drastic change in fortune, with unpaid dues for workers resulting in their monikers being indelibly scrawled as symbols: ?Willful Defaulter? and ?Fugitive Economic Offender?. The purpose of this paper is to step away from considering Mallya?s narrative solely as a story of a tycoon?s fall from grace. Instead, it is an examination of the delicate fusion between political apathy and scarcity of decisive regulation that results in gross arrogance. Vittal Mallya?s pioneering reticence stands against the empty grandeur of Mallya's leadership while outlining the ways in which the UB Group attempts to tackle the misdemeanors of Mallya.
Keywords
Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines, United Breweries Group, Corporate Governance, Regulatory Failure, Business Ethics, Fugitive Economic Offender.
References
[1] Diversion of over ₹3,700 crore in bank loans to F1, IPL, and private jet usage. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/vijay-mallya-charged-with-fradulently-diverting-rs-3700-crore-1870614?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Accessed on 29 August 2025)
[2] Vijay Mallya being declared the first fugitive economic offender under the FEOA, 2018.
[3] Vijay Mallya: Congress, BJP, CBI: How All Helped Fugitive," Times of India, Sept. 14, 2018, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/bjp-congress-cbi-everybody-helped-vijay-mallya/articleshow/65808730.cms (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
[4] Prudhivi Renuka Sai, Vijay Mallya and Consortium of Banks: A Detailed Study, Indian J. Integrated Rsch L. (2023), https://ijirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/VIJAY-MALLYA-AND-CONSORTIUM-OF-BANKS-A-DETAILED-STUDY.pdf. (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
[5] "Kingfisher Airlines: A Case Study of Financial Collapse in India," 1 J. Indian Bus. & Econ. Stud. 45 (2023), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/25166042231204468. (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
[6] Karnataka political parties distance themselves from Vijay Mallya, 2016. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/karnataka-political-parties-distance-themselves-from-vijay-mallya/articleshow/51352009.cms?from=mdr (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
[7] ANALYSIS OF VIJAY MALLAYA’S SCAM CASE, lawful legal (2024).
[8] Krishnamurthy, P. (2025). The Kingfisher Saga: A Global Perspective on Corporate Governance, Ethical Lapses, and Extradition Challenges-Part B. Available at SSRN 5292038. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5292038 (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
[9] Dutta, R. (2019). Fugitive Economic Offender's Act, 2018: An Analysis. Int'l JL Mgmt. & Human., 2, 174.
[10] Panigrahi, D. A. K., Sinha, A., Garg, A., & Mehta, A. (2019). A case study on the downfall of kingfisher airlines. Journal of Management Research and Analysis, 6(2), 81-84. A case study on the downfall of kingfisher airlines (Accessed on 30 August 2025)
How to cite this paper
@article{1710696,
author = {Mihika Shetty, Atifa Sheik Asif},
title = {The Fallout of the King of Good Times},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2025},
volume = {9},
number = {3},
pages = {1909-1915},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1710696.pdf},
abstract = {Vijay Mallya?s rise from fortune to misfortune is possibly one of the most exciting stories in contemporary India. Mallya?s transformation of the United Breweries Group to an empire flecked with glamour and excess earned him a place in history as the over-the-top ?King of Good Times?. His vision gave life to Kingfisher Airlines in 2005, but it was not a means of transport; it was an extension of Mallya himself, with the aim of being lavish, provocative and embodying Mallya?s character. Airline was a significant part of Mallya's vision. However, oblivious to the excesses, the Mallya?s reportedly unchecked growth with absent management and financial discipline, transformed a revelry into catastrophe. Mallya, who once strolled about boardrooms and political gatherings, saw a drastic change in fortune, with unpaid dues for workers resulting in their monikers being indelibly scrawled as symbols: ?Willful Defaulter? and ?Fugitive Economic Offender?. The purpose of this paper is to step away from considering Mallya?s narrative solely as a story of a tycoon?s fall from grace. Instead, it is an examination of the delicate fusion between political apathy and scarcity of decisive regulation that results in gross arrogance. Vittal Mallya?s pioneering reticence stands against the empty grandeur of Mallya's leadership while outlining the ways in which the UB Group attempts to tackle the misdemeanors of Mallya. },
keywords = {Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher Airlines, United Breweries Group, Corporate Governance, Regulatory Failure, Business Ethics, Fugitive Economic Offender.},
month = {September},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I3-1710696-2847}
}