India, June 6 -- Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, who is facing fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs.9,000 crore, has opened up about the downfall of Kingfisher Airlines in a podcast interview with Raj Shamani.

Reflecting on the demise of Kingfisher Airlines, Mallya pointed squarely to the 2008 global financial meltdown. "So agreed then it worked in your favour till 2008. What happened then? Simple. You ever heard of Lehman Brothers? You ever heard of the global financial crisis, right? Did it not impact India? Of course, it did," he said.

He continued, highlighting the broader economic fallout: "Every sector was hit. The money stopped. It got dry. The value of the Indian rupee also took a hit."

Kingfisher Airlines, lau...