March 3, 2016

Force India's (ex?) boss is a wanted man.



The increasingly oddly coiffed Indian businessman Vijay Mallya is in such hot water with creditors that they have petitioned authorities for his arrest and the seizure of his passport.


It seems Mallya's defunct Kingfisher airlines defaulted on $1B+ in loans,  creditors want to get their hands on a $75M severance package the Force India principal negotiated in exchange for stepping down as chairman of his liquor company, United Spirits Limited.

The fate of Force India is murkier.  Malaya insists he is still in control but it's rumored he put up his stake in the team as collateral for a $135M loan liquor giant Diageo, the company which bought out United Spirits,  guaranteed to finance the company Mallya uses to finance his F1 team.

The other shareholder in Force India, the Sahara Group is trying unsuccessfully to sell its stake. Subarea Roy, Sahara's founder and friend of Mallya has been in jail for fraud on such epic scale that indian courts turned down a $5B offer for bail to release him!

For his part,  Mallya insists there is no problem with the team.   Look to the Monaco GP this year to see if the Indian tycoon  will host his customary no holds barred party onboard his yacht, the Indian Empress

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