Vijay Mallya avoided justice for years in exile.
Vijay Mallya visited the starting grid of the F1 race at Silverstone in early July. PDO
Owner of former F1 team Force India Vijay Mallya has received a four-month prison sentence for financial crimes.
The BBC reports After a years-long legal battle, the businessman was sentenced by the Supreme Court of India.
In court, the bankruptcy of the Kingfisher airline owned by Mallya and the tens of millions of euros lost in the businessman’s bank accounts were discussed.
In 2017, the Indian Court of Appeal found that Mallya had already transferred $40 million in airline funds to his children’s bank accounts, even though the company, which went bankrupt in 2011, still had debts to pay. Mallya had gone into exile from India at this point and settled in Britain.
In addition to the court, he ran away from his creditors. According to the BBC, Mallay’s personal debt burden was almost one billion euros.
In 2018, the British judiciary ordered Mallya to be deported to his home country to face the charges against him.
Mallya’s name is familiar to formula fans through the Force India team he founded. The team competed in the F1 series from 2008 to 2018 before collapsing after financial difficulties By Lawrence Stroll into my arms. The team is known today as Aston Martin.