The co-owner of the Force India Formula One team, Vijay Mallya, was arrested in London on Tuesday morning. The arrest was made on behalf of the Indian authorities, as part of an extradition request made on February 8.
Mallya is facing charges of fraud and conspiracy related to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The airline was launched in 2005, but financial issues hit and the money dried up. The airline shut down in late 2012, with their license being revoked only a few months later.
A group of banks began the legal process for repayment with the Supreme Court in India prior to the start of the 2016 season. Mallya’s diplomatic passport was revoked by the government a month later, leaving him trapped in the United Kingdom.
“Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extradition warrant,” said the Metropolitan Police in a statement. ”Vijay Mallya, 61, was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud. He was arrested after attending a central London police station, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today, 18 April.”
Mallya was released on £650 000 bail, with a court date set for May 17. The extradition process could take months, even years to finish.
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