Nedungadi, who had questioned Mallya's entry into aviation with Kingfisher Airlines, said he was ‘retiring and hanging up my boots’.

Ravi Nedungadi, chief financial officer and board member of UB (Holdings) Ltd and a key advisor of Vijay Mallya for the past 25 years, has decided to step down.

Nedungadi, who had questioned Mallya's entry into aviation with Kingfisher Airlines, said he was ‘retiring and hanging up my boots’.

“Our retirement age is 58, and I am 59. Mallya has reluctantly agreed me to retire,” said Nedungadi.

Nedungadi's exit from the UB Group comes at a time when Mallya faces charges of money laundering, default to banks and escaping the law.

Nedungadi was the chief financial officer of UB Group when Mallya started the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

When contacted, a UB spokersperson declined to comment.

He was also the chief financial officer of Kingfisher Airlines, which owes about Rs 7,200 crore (Rs 72 billion) to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, before he quit the airline in April 2014.

Image: Ravi Nedungadi. Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Business Standard