Jaitley backs banks' move against Mallya, says must recover each penny lent

New Delhi: As the group of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks moved Supreme Court (SC) to restrain Vijay Mallya from travelling abroad, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday threw his weight behind the lenders, saying each penny lent must be recovered.

"Well, I think it's not only a legal but a moral obligation that every banking institution in India has to recover the last pie," Jaitley said.The government cannot accept a "situation where 15 or 20 people are sitting on so much money of the banks, that the ability of the banks to lend to thousands of others" get severely impacted, he said.

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"...whatever steps the banks will take in this matter, the government of India will stand behind them but also actively encourage them to protect their own interest which is also the larger public interest because the public money is involved in the banks.

"After all, I am taxing the people of India to put money into the capital of the banks," he told media. He was asked about banks' efforts to recover dues from Mallya.The SC will tomorrow hear a plea of 13 banks, which had advanced loans of over Rs 9,000 crore to Mallya's firm, seeking a direction to restrain him from leaving India.

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The Debt Recovery Tribunal on Monday barred Mallya from accessing $75 million (Rs 515 crore) exit payment from Diageo till the loan default case with SBI is settled while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case against him in another default case.