Mallya’s £50m private jet sold for less than £5m

The pressure is mounting on Vijay Mallya as he awaits the next stage later this month of the hearing into whether he should be extradited to India to faces charges of fraud and money laundering in the wake of the collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines in 2012.

A judge in London has authorised court officials to enter Mallya’s home in Tewin, Hertfordshire, list and seize assets and auction them to part repay a consortium of Indian banks who say he owes them approximately £1.15 billion.

While there are strict rules on what can be seized, the move is part of an increasing legal squeeze on Mallya, the former head of United Spirits who fled to the UK in March 2016.

Last week, Indian officials sold his luxury Airbus A319 personal jet for less than £5 million, about a tenth of what it might have been expected to fetch.

Mallya, whose lawyers have presented an Indian court with a dossier to demonstrate that he is able to meet his debts, says he is the victim of a witch hunt and that the charges against him are political.

Nevertheless a UK court has found there is sufficient evidence against him to order the freezing of his worldwide assets and grant permission for his Hertfordshire home to be searched. He has also been found guilty of contempt by India’s Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend, the beleaguered businessman said his Force India team could be for sale for the right price.

Rumours have circulated for some time that he might sell to raise funds, but no formal offers have been made.

Mallya said: “Rumours will always be rumours and these are not new rumours, they are continuing for many years.”

Asked whether he would sell if there was an offer to buy the team he said: “If you gave me a fantastic offer and showed me the money on the table the answer is yes.”

The hearing will resume in London on 31 July.