October 3 2017
Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant Indian beer and airline tycoon, has been accused in a London court of money laundering, with funds lent to aid his ailing air carrier Kingfisher Airlines allegedly going to his Force India Formula One motor racing team.
Mr Mallya, a former spirits baron who has been living in self-imposed exile in London since early last year, is battling an Indian government request for his extradition to India to stand trial for alleged financial misconduct leading to the collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines.
In January, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation filed criminal charges against Mr Mallya and nine of his bankers and former senior executives for the alleged diversion of funds from a $134m loan extended by the state-owned IDBI Bank to Kingfisher Airlines.