India has lodged a formal request for the extradition of Force India F1 team owner Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom.
The ex-liquor baron is facing charges for financial fraud and defaulting on loans after leaving his home country with over $1 billion in debts following the collapse of his former business, Kingfisher Airlines, in 2013.
“We have today handed over the request for extradition of Mr Vijay Vittal Mallya as received from the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] to the UK High Commission,” ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters, per Aljazeera.
“We have requested the UK side to extradite him to face trial in India.”
The report adds that the extradition request comes around the same time as Mallya being ousted from the board of United Breweries, “through which he controlled his business empire”.
Mallya allegedly fled India last March as pressure from his creditors mounted. Several warrants have already been issued against him but the Indian tycoon has remained defiant so far.
The Force India boss’ legal woes have not appeared to impact the Silverstone-based outfit, which is coming off its best-ever season after beating Williams to fourth place in the 2016 F1 Constructors’ championship.
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