Kingfisher tycoon loses extradition appeal

Vijay Mallya faces money laundering and fraud charges in India

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 10, 2018 file photo, Indian business man Vijay Mallya takes a smoking break outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London. Britain’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Monday Feb. 4, 2019, signed the order paving the way for the extradition of tycoon Vijay Mallya to India to face financial fraud allegations. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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A British judge has rejected a first attempt by fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya to appeal against his extradition to India where he faces charges of money laundering and fraud.

A magistrate ordered in December that Mr Mallya, 63, should return to India after fleeing to the UK in 2016 leaving behind debts of more than $1 billion following the collapse of his brewery and airline empire.

The decision was confirmed by Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February but the businessman challenged the ruling claiming that he was the subject of a politically-motivated campaign.

High Court judge William Davis last week ruled against Mr Mallya in his first attempt to prevent his extradition but he can make a fresh appeal to the courts, said a spokesman for the judiciary, a move that would delay his return to India.

The businessman was arrested in 2017 after a consortium of 17 banks accused him of failing to pay back loans of $1.3 billion for his now-defunct Kingfisher airline.

The criminal case against Mr Mallya was launched in Indian after investigators trawled the financial affairs of the airline after it was grounded in 2012.

Despite being in deep trouble, bank loans for the airline were pumped into two “vanity projects” including a Formula One team owned by the businessman and a corporate jet, a UK court found.

He claims the collapse of his airline was an unfortunate corporate failure affected caused by a surge in fuel costs and mechanical mishaps.