LONDON — Vijay Mallya, the Indian tycoon who called himself the King of Good Times, was arrested in London on Tuesday, having fled his home country more than a year ago under an avalanche of unpaid bills and allegations of fraud.
India canceled Mr. Mallya’s passport in April 2016, after a court in Mumbai issued a warrant for his arrest, and on Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police in London said its extradition unit had arrested Mr. Mallya “on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.” Mr. Mallya was scheduled to appear at a London court on Tuesday, the police said in a statement.
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation said a request for Mr. Mallya’s extradition was sent to Britain on Feb. 8.
Mr. Mallya dismissed the news as “media hype,” but he confirmed on Twitter that an extradition hearing began on Tuesday.
Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.
He has previously disputed accusations that he fled India to avoid bad debts, saying on Twitter that he travels “to and from India frequently.”
“I did not flee from India and neither am I an absconder,” he added. “Rubbish.”
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, an Indian finance minister, told reporters that the country’s authorities were “ascertaining the facts and trying to find out how to bring him back to our country and start legal proceedings against him.”
“We will not spare him legally,” Mr. Gangwar said.
Often likened to the British entrepreneur Richard Branson, Mr. Mallya owns the United Breweries Group, which makes Kingfisher beer and distributes a wide variety of products, including alcohol, chemicals and fertilizer. He also has a stake in India’s only Formula One auto racing team, Force India.
