Lulu Mall in Lucknow is facing financial trouble due to unpaid taxes. The mall failed to deposit its income tax dues of ₹27 crore on time. Because of this delay, the Income Tax Department froze seized the mall’s bank account so money cannot be used until the issue is resolved.
Recently mall was already in the news in connection with a serious criminal case involving one of its managers. Earlier this year, a female employee of Lulu Mall accused a manager of serious crimes, including rape, blackmail, and physical assault. According to her, the manager gave her a drink laced with a sedative, assaulted her, recorded a video of the incident, and later used it to threaten her and demand money. Following her complaint, the police arrested the manager and sent him to jail. This case is entirely separate from the mall’s ongoing tax issues.
Despite these issues, the parent company continues to plan expansions in other cities across India. Lulu Group plans to open more malls in cities like Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, and Ahmedabad. The proposed Ahmedabad mall is expected to be one of the biggest in the city.
Lulu Mall is owned by Lulu Group International, founded by M.A. Yusuff Ali, a businessman based in the UAE. The company runs large shopping malls and hypermarkets in many countries. At present Lulu Group operates a total of eight malls in India. Five of these are located in Kerala, in the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Palakkad, Kozhikode, and Kottayam. In addition, the group has one mall each in Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Hyderabad.
