Ex-Force India owner Vijay Mallya jailed over $40m payment

Mallya was found guilty by India’s Supreme Court for contempt of court five years ago but has only now been sentenced.

The charge is linked to the collapse of Kingfisher Airways, his company. He allegedly transferred the funds to his children while bank loans relating to Kingfisher Airways went unpaid.

When the airline failed in 2012, it owed $1 billion.

He has been fighting extradition from the UK to India where he is accused of fraud and money-laundering.

Mallya remains in London despite losing an appeal at the High Court over his extradition in 2020.

Indian media has reported that Mallya has been instructed by the government to pay $40m, plus eight percent interest, within four weeks to avoid the seizure of his properties.

Mallya made his fortune selling Kingfisher beer before moving into various industries, including F1.

He led a consortium to start Force India and ran the team in F1 between 2008 and 2018.

The team went 29 races without a point before Giancarlo Fisichella finally scored to put Force India on the map.

Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon, Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are notably former Force India drivers.

But amid Mallya’s financial disaster, the team was put into administration in London’s High Court in 2018.

Lawrence Stroll bought the assets and the team became Racing Point Force India, then Racing Point, and is now Aston Martin.