Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya arrested in London on fraud charges

The 61-year-old was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud and will be presented in Westminster Magistrates Court later on Tuesday

Tuesday 18 April 2017 12:22 BST
Comments
The 61-year-old was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities
The 61-year-old was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Force India team owner Vijay Mallya has been arrested in London.

The 61-year-old was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud, a statement from the Metropolitan Police confirmed. He was subsequently bailed.

India had asked Britain to extradite Mallya to face trial after the liquor and aviation tycoon fled there last March after banks sued to recover about $1.4 billion that Indian authorities say the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes.

Mallya has repeatedly dismissed the charges against him and defended himself in messages from his personal account on social media network Twitter.

An India-based spokesman for Mallya's UB Group did not comment immediately.

Indian television channel CNN News18 reported that Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard and a team of Indian law enforcement officials would visit London to begin work on his extradition.

India's foreign ministry and its federal police, the Central Bureau of Investigation, were not immediately available for comment.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in