Indian billionaire Mallya’s crisis-hit superyacht in Malta

The 95-metre superyacht Indian Empress is currently in Malta, berthed in the Manoel Island Marina in Marsamxett.

Formerly owned by a Qatari Royal Family, the Indian Empress currently belongs to Indian entrepreneur Vijay Mallya, owner of crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines, which is embroiled in several cheque-bouncing cases and which has grounded its fleet earlier this month after being unable to pay its  employees.

Mallya and his airline are currently the focus of an ongoing court case revolving around a number of bounced cheques worth more than 10.3 million rupees (€1.5 million) issued by Mallya's company, Kingfisher Airlines.

On 12 October, a court in Hyderabad issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Kingfisher Airlines and Mallya in his capacity as the company's chairman after he failed to attend a court hearing.

Earlier this year, Mallya's company had to deal with a similar cheque-bouncing case, this time filed by Mumbai International Airport, run by GVK Group.

Mallya is also an MP in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, as well as chairman of the United Breweries group, India's largest brewing company.