The government has handed over request for extradition of absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya to the British high commission in New Delhi, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Thursday.
Honouring the request will be seen as an act of cooperation between India and Britain, Swarup said.
Earlier today, the United Breweries fired indebted Mallya from his non-executive chairman role following an order from the country’s market regulator, it said in a stock exchange filing late Wednesday.
The UB Group said the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Mallya from holding key managerial roles in any listed company.
Mallya, who made Kingfisher beer a global brand, was known for his flamboyant lifestyle and styled himself as the “King of Good Times”.
He owes banks at least $1 billion, fleeing to Britain last March as pressure grew from banks to pay back the loans.
Mallya has repeatedly failed to appear before investigators at the Enforcement Directorate, a financial crimes agency, who suspect him of misusing funds loaned by a state bank.
The company’s decision follows Karnataka high court issuing a ‘winding-up’ order on United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), the firm through which Mallya controlled his once-sprawling business empire, directing an official liquidator to take over all assets.
