An Indian billionaire who once owned whisky firm Whyte & Mackay (W&M) but later became embroiled in a scandal over financial irregularities at its former parent is the subject of an extradition request to the UK.
India’s government said yesterday it was seeking the return of Mr Mallya, who has been in the UK since March, to face charges of money laundering as well as bank demands that he pay back more than a billion US dollars in loans.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley said India would begin extradition proceedings once official charges were filed against the businessman.
According to India’s foreign ministry, the UK cannot deport Mr Mallya immediately because he entered Britain with a valid, though now revoked, passport.
India’s enforcement directorate is gathering evidence as part of a probe into the entrepreneur’s debts, totalling £977million, linked to his now defunct airline Kingfisher.
Mr Mallya sold drink firm United Spirits Limited (USL), including W&M, to Diageo in a £1.3billion deal in 2013. He used the proceeds to prop up his airline, which went bust shortly after.
Glasgow-based W&M was later sold to Emperador, the distillery arm of Filipino conglomerate Alliance Global, for £430million.
Last year, the board of USL – India’s biggest alcoholic-drink company – asked Mr Mallya to resign as chairman after an internal probe suggested he may have been involved in financial irregularities.
Diageo recently agreed to pay Mr Mallya £52million in return for his resignation, prompting a legal push by competing creditors who say they should have first claim to the money.
Indian authorities are now investigating the financial dealings of various subsidiaries of United Breweries, USL’s former parent, which is controlled by Mr Mallya.
