05/02/2019
NEWS STORY
Former Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya can be extradited to India after Home Secretary Sajid Javid formally approved the move.
For the last two years, Mallya has been fighting extradition to India where he faces prosecution on charges of fraud and money laundering. Before stepping down as a director at Force India last May, his appearance at races had become a rarity usually only attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone just over the road from his team's factory.
Accused by the Indian government of fleeing to the UK in order to avoid arrest over an estimated £1bn of debts linked to Kingfisher Airlines, which subsequently collapsed, the Force India co-owner, who was first arrested in April 2017, was subsequently re-arrested that October accused of using the F1 team for the purpose of money laundering.
In July last year the team was placed in administration, a move brought about by Sergio Perez in a bid to save the outfit and its workforce.
Subsequently bought by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, it was revealed that the team owed £28.5m to 450 companies.
Top of the pile of a list of creditors that included parts manufacturers, doctors, journalists, Toyota (wind tunnel use), delivery firms, drivers (including Paul di Resta who was owed £348.86!!!), caterers, DJs and even various race tracks including Abu Dhabi, COTA and Monza, was Mercedes which was owed £13.7m for its engines.
Documents subsequently released revealed that among the long list of creditors were Mallya and co-owner Subrata Roy who claimed to be owed £159m, which they said they gave to the team, whereas, according to the administrator's lawyers the pair actually owed the team at least £4.2m.
Following the court decision in December, when the presiding judge deemed that Mallya had misrepresented how loans from the banks were used, he referred the decision on his extradition to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid. Yesterday, Javid gave his approval.
"After the decision was handed down on December 10, 2018 by the Westminster Magistrates Court, I stated my intention to appeal," tweeted Mallya in reaction to the news. "I could not initiate the appeal process before a decision by the Home Secretary. Now I will initiate the appeal process."
"One more step to get Mallya extradited," tweeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, whose boss, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accused Mallya of "looting" India and Indians.
"There is no place for corruption in India," said Modi, who has previously referred to Mallya as a "fugitive from justice". "Those who looted the poor and middle classes will have to return what they have looted."