Mallya is the chairman of United Spirits, the biggest spirits company in India, and the chairman of United Breweries Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests in fertilizer, real estate, aviation infrastructure, and beverage alcohol. Mallya is the son of a businessman who was also in the alcoholic beverage industry. He served as chairman of Bayer CropScience in India for more than 20 years, chairman of Sanofi India (formerly Hoechst AG and Aventis), and chairman of a number of other businesses.
In addition, Mallya co-owned the Force India Formula One team prior to its administration and was the creator and previous owner of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Additionally, he used to own the Bangalore cricket side Royal Challengers. Mallya was formerly referred to as the "King of Good Times" because of his lavish lifestyle, but since 2012, he and his businesses have been involved in financial scandals and disputes. After declaring his desire to relocate to Britain in order to be nearer to his children, Mallya departed India on March 2, 2016. About ₹90 billion (US$1.1 billion) in loans that Mallya allegedly funneled to acquire a full or partial share in roughly 40 businesses worldwide are being sought by a group of 17 Indian banks.
Mallya is being investigated by a number of organizations, including the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax Department, for allegations of financial fraud and money laundering. The Attorney General stated that Mallya's foreign assets are "far in excess to loans taken by him." In an attempt to stop Mallya from leaving the country, the 17 banks filed a combined plea in the Supreme Court of India in March 2016, but the Indian authorities claimed he had already departed. In March 2016, he was additionally charged with money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate of India for allegedly moving ₹9 billion (US$110 million) that had been borrowed from his airline overseas.
Mallya's passport was canceled by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on April 24, 2016, and he left the Rajya Sabha on May 2, 2016, just before their Ethics Committee was ready to suggest that he be expelled. The Enforcement Directorate is currently requesting that Interpol issue an international arrest order for Mallya. In addition, on March 13, 2016, the Hyderabad High Court of Judicature issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya for his nonattendance in court on a charge of defrauding GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. by sending them a dishonored cheque for ₹5 million (US$60,000).
On June 13, 2016, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requested that Mallya be designated a "proclaimed offender" by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court as part of its money laundering investigation into him in relation to an alleged loan default case worth ₹90 billion (US$1.1 billion). From 2007 to 2018, Mallya was a co-owner of Force India, a Formula One team. Financial difficulties forced Sahara Force India into administration in the midst of the 2018 Formula One season. Racing Point F1 Team acquired the team's assets in August 2018 and proceeded to race for the rest of the 2018 season under the Force India moniker.
Mallya was taken into custody by the UK Metropolitan Police extradition section "on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud" on April 18, 2017, and was later freed on bail while the case was investigated further. Mallya was found guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court of India on May 9, 2017, and he was given a summons to appear on July 10. The Supreme Court stated that the contempt case would not move further until he was brought before the court, despite his failure to appear. Mallya referred to the proceedings against him as a "witch hunt" and disregarded them.
"I have done nothing at all wrong," he declared. Actually, I'm happy that it's now in front of an unbiased UK court. Thus, we watch to see how things turn out. He claims that it is not a problem for him that he is not permitted to leave Britain in the interim. "There's nothing to miss" about India, he claimed, because his immediate family has all relocated to the US or England. Mallya was detained in connection with a London money-laundering investigation on October 3, 2017, and he was later freed on bail. He was charged with bank fraud for an estimated ₹90 billion (US$1.1 billion), leading to an appeal to extradite him from Britain. On July 31, the Westminster Magistrate's Court will host the last extradition hearing.
Since his detention in April 2017 on an extradition warrant, Mallya has been released on bond. In the UK, Mallya is battling an extradition battle. A UK court ordered Vijay Mallya to pay Indian banks £200,000 (₹18.1 million) on June 16, 2018. Additionally, he was requested to pay money to register the Karnataka Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and a worldwide freezing order.
SBI, BOB, Corporation Bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, J&K Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, PNB, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, UBI, and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt Ltd are among the 13 banks that Vijay Mallya is required to pay. Mallya insisted that his mother owned his £20 million home on London's Cornwall Terrace when the consortium tried to take it.
In 2018, UBS filed a lawsuit to evict Mallya, his mother Lalith, and his son Sidhartha from Cornwall Terrace. May 2019 was the date of the trial. Due to a deal that Mallya negotiated with UBS, the trial was not held. In accordance with the agreement, UBS has the right to take immediate ownership of the property if the mortgage is not paid off by April 2020, and Mallya is permitted to stay there. Mallya is also obligated to pay the £820,333 in interest that has accumulated from April 2019 as well as any additional sum that has accumulated until May 1, 2020. Additionally, he was ordered to pay £223,863 for receivers' charges and £1,047,081 for legal fees.
The court decided in December 2018 that he might be extradited to India to be investigated for fraud. Mallya was given permission to fight his extradition to the London High Court in July 2019. The London High Court dismissed Vijay Mallya's request against his extradition to India in April 2020.
Vijay Mallya's last attempt to stop extradition was unsuccessful. After losing an appeal in the London High Court against an extradition order to India on suspected allegations of fraud and money laundering connected to unrecovered loans to Kingfisher Airlines, Mallya filed an appeal in the UK Supreme Court earlier in May 2020. He might be extradited within the next 28 days, it was suggested. The Indian government was informed in October 2020, however, that Mallya could not be extradited at this time because of an unidentified "confidential legal matter."
In a 2017 contempt of court case, the Supreme Court fined Mallya Rs 2,000 and sentenced him to four months in prison on July 11, 2022. In 2017, he was found guilty of contempt for transferring $40 million to his children against the directions of the court. The top court ordered Mallya to pay the Supreme Court legal services authority $40 million with 8% interest within four weeks of being sentenced to prison. Failure to comply would result in property attachment and an additional two-month imprisonment.