Breaking News: Vijay Mallya granted bail; says extradition hearing was “expected”

Hours after his arrest, beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya was granted bail. Mallya, who is wanted in India over unpaid loans of around Rs 9,000 crore, appeared before the Westminster Magistrates Court.

Mallya was arrested in relation to extradition request from the UK to India. He was arrested under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty by the London Metropolitan Police on behalf of Indian authorities on fraud accusations.

Mallya, 61, fled to Britain in March 2016 after banks sued to recover about $1.4 billion that Indian authorities say Kingfisher owes.

Mallya’s counsel told ETNow that he was granted bail and was already home.

Mallya took to Twitter and said the appearance before court was slated

Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.

— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) April 18, 2017


Earlier in January this year, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 7200-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.