Force India Boss Mallya Arrested in London

[Paul Jeffrey]

Force India boss Vijay Mallya has been arrested today in connection with charges of fraud and conspiracy in his native India.

Mallya has long been sought by Indian authorities in connection with dealings regarding his now closed Kingfisher Airlines business, and according to the London Metropolitan Police the eccentric Indian team owner has been arrested this morning under an extraction warrant from the Indian government.


"Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extraction warrant," say the Metropolitan Police said in a statement released today.

"Vijay Mallya, 61, was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.

"He was arrested after attending a central London police station, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later today, 18 April."

How the latest setback for Mallya will affect his Force India Formula One team remains to be seen, however since Mallya and former business partner Roy Sahara have been dealing with their various legal issues the day to day management of the Silverstone based squad has largely fallen to his race team executives, including the respected and experience Bob Fernley.

More news as it becomes available...

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Do you think the arrest of Mallya could impact Force India's position in Formula One? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Winkhaus]

Long overdue... The thief should sit in jail.

 

[Joseph Wright]

Hopefully force India can stay in the sport even with this happening behind the scenes.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Hopefully force India can stay in the sport even with this happening behind the scenes.

I get the impression he isn't too involved nowadays, and looks like the team don't overly rely on his money for running costs so I suspect everything should be fine.

Great time for a manufacturer to get hands in pockets and buy themselves a very solid team indeed......

 

[Andy_J]

Serves them right for having a pink F1 car.

 

[ThatRacingGuy]

Hopefully force India can stay in the sport even with this happening behind the scenes.

Yup news just got announced,

They will continue under the name:
Force Pink Panther Racing

 

[MustartMatters]

Come on Jaguar, buy force india!
He will have to sell it to repay the debts.

 

[antirussia81]

Serves them right for having a pink F1 car.

Besides, it's a well know fact that pink colour draws attention of Inspector Clouseau...

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

I get the impression he isn't too involved nowadays, and looks like the team don't overly rely on his money for running costs so I suspect everything should be fine.

Great time for a manufacturer to get hands in pockets and buy themselves a very solid team indeed......

I agree, up until the point the Indian justice system start to liquidate his assets.

I hope a buyer is found.

 

[MustartMatters]

I agree, up until the point the Indian justice system start to liquidate his assets.

I hope a buyer is found.

That is guaranteed, a team with the infrastructure, a team with a good package to build on.
It is perfect, especially for my favourite cars, Jaguars, using it's indian ties.
Parents have owned nothing but Jags all my life, so it would be great to see them back.

 

[kondor999]

David Thieme, Joachim Luthi, Akira Akagi, Andrea Sassetti, Cyril de Rouvre, Wataru Ohashi, Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, Sulaiman Al-Kehaimi, Prince Malik Ado Ibrahim, Calisto Tanzi, Mansoor Ijaz.

And now this guy.

Some things in F1 never change.

 

[Daniel Faas]

Would be great to see a BMW works team again, but do like the idea of a "privateer" team being in contention week in and week out like Force India has been in the past two seasons.

 

[Blimey]

Come on Jaguar, buy force india!
He will have to sell it to repay the debts.

As much as I'd like to have that green livery back in F1, I doubt Jaguar would ever have the funds to race in F1 again.
If Force India was to lose their team, this would be a great opportunity for Porsche/Audi/Toyota, in case WEC has no competitors in LMP1 at WEC.

 

[Skidmeister]

Besides, it's a well know fact that pink colour draws attention of Inspector Clouseau...

Comon, who doesn't trust a guy with a gold tooth.

And DON'T call me an Indian giver either !!
Mallya is a Playa dog

 

[Davide Nativo]

And that is how Alfa Romeo got back in F1, kids

 

[JPL083]

If the name Benetton could come back...

 

[Nick Gregory]

Or Jordan...

 

[Dirk Steffen]

Serves them right for having a pink F1 car.

You know, when I first saw the 2017 Force India livery earlier this year I was sceptic.
It has grown on me though and now I really like it although the color surely is not among my favorite colors.
It definitely is a big improvement coming from their long in the tooth livery of old:

F1 GP - Shanghai 2015 - Williams + Force India by Dirk Steffen, on Flickr

F1 GP - Shanghai 2017 - Sergio Perez by Dirk Steffen, on Flickr

 

[Joseph Wright]

Great time for a manufacturer to get hands in pockets and buy themselves a very solid team indeed......

It really is, and with so many different manafacturers out there, we could see a big name hit the sport for either the first time, or returning to the sport after lying dormant. Of course Aston Martin and Jaguar, big names that most people would like to see back, however I would not be upset if we see Alfa Romeo or even BMW buy out the team. Anything new will create an interesting time for F1, and with such a sold base of a car and team already, we may see a large name hit the shelf. Will be interesting to see what happens next.

 

[Skidmeister]

View attachment 186614 I'm always looking for a Tax Deduction, just saying I'm thirsty if it tastes right

DJ Khaled