Force India F1 team boss Vijay Mallya arrested in London

Indebted tycoon Vijay Mallya has been bailed on security of £650,000 after appearing in court in London.

He was arrested on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Police on behalf of the Indian authorities, over fraud accusations.

India has been seeking the extradition of Mr Mallya, who faces charges of financial irregularities at his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Mr Mallya is said to owe banks £600m but he denies wrongdoing.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and a case management hearing was scheduled for 17 May.

A brief statement on Mr Mallya’s Twitter account said: “Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in court started today as expected.”

The 61-year-old former Indian MP entered the UK on a valid passport in March 2016.

Airline collapse

Mr Mallya made his fortune selling beer under the Kingfisher brand before branching out into aviation and Formula 1 racing.

He is the co-owner of the F1 team Force India and also owns the Indian Premier League cricket franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

However, Mr Mallya’s airline was grounded in 2012 and its flying permit lapsed the following year.

Kingfisher made annual losses for five years in a row and finally collapsed after lenders refused to give it fresh loans.

In March last year, Mr Mallya was blocked from receiving $75m in severance pay from the UK drinks giant Diageo.

He was due to receive the money after being ousted from the firm, but a consortium of banks and creditors had demanded the money should be used to settle some of Mr Mallya’s outstanding debts to them.

In April last year, India revoked Mr Mallya’s passport.

The following month, it began seeking his extradition from the UK. BBC News