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Force India F1 Owner Vijay Mallya Arrested In London On Fraud Allegations

Force India Formula 1 team Owner VIJAY MALLYA was arrested in London "on behalf of Indian authorities investigating allegations of fraud in connection with the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines," according to Rupert Neate of the London GUARDIAN. Scotland Yard said that Mallya, who fled to the U.K. from India to "avoid arrest" in relation to £1B ($1.3B) of unpaid debts, was arrested on an extradition warrant on Tuesday. Mallya appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court and "was bailed to return for an extradition hearing" at a later date. On Twitter, he "dismissed excitement" surrounding his arrest as "expected" before an extradition hearing. He denied the fraud allegations (GUARDIAN, 4/18). The London TELEGRAPH reported Mallya was "famous for his flashy lifestyle and lavish parties attended by fashion models and Bollywood stars." He was once "hailed" as India's version of British tycoon Richard Branson for his investments in a brewing and liquor company, an airline, an F1 team and an Indian Premier League cricket club. But he "ran into trouble" when he failed to returns millions of dollars of loans and left India last year "amid attempts by a group of banks to recover the money" (TELEGRAPH, 4/18). The BBC reported the businessman "made his fortune" selling beer before branching out into aviation and F1. However, Mallya's airline was grounded in '12 and "its flying permit lapsed the following year." It made annual losses for five years in a row and "finally collapsed after lenders refused to give fresh loans" (BBC, 4/18). In N.Y., Tsang & Kumar reported Mallya previously disputed accusations that he fled India to avoid bad debts, saying on Twitter that he travels “to and from India frequently.” He added, "I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder. Rubbish." Indian Finance Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that the country's authorities were "ascertaining the facts and trying to find out how to bring him back to our country and start legal proceedings against him." Gangwar added, "We will not spare him legally" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/18).

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