Britain’s Metropolitan Police on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of controversial Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in his country for defaulting on loans.
Police will produce him in court later.
Mallya owes more than one billion dollars in unpaid loans to a consortium of primarily state-owned banks, taken out for his company Kingfisher Airlines, which collapsed in 2012.
A statement from said officers arrested Mallya early Tuesday following an extradition request from Indian authorities.
“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,” the statement read.
A former lawmaker with a stake in the Force India F1 team, Mallya fled the country in March 2015.
Indian banks were unsuccessful in their attempts to recover his unpaid loans.
He repeatedly refused to appear before courts and investigators in India.
A spokesman for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party referred to the arrest as a “big victory” for the Indian government, adding that extradition would be carried out in due course.
Formerly chairman of India’s top spirits company, Mallya is popularly known as “King of the Good Times” in India.
The flamboyant industrialist, known for his lavish lifestyle, is thought to have been staying at his sprawling mansion near London.(dpa/NAN)
