Force India owner Vijay Mallya was arrested on Tuesday, Metropolitan police confirmed. Indian police forwarded a formal request for him to be extradited from the UK on February 8.
The 61 year old Indian was wanted on charges of fraud and conspiracy over a loan for his now defunct airline business ‘Kingfisher airlines’.
In a tweet Mallya played down the situation calling it ‘ussual Indian media hype’. He had been residing in London since his passport was revoked and a warrant issued for his arrest last April.
In a statement Metropolitan police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extraction warrant. 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.”
