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Mallya Granted Bail Hours After Arrest In London, Extradition Begins

Following his release, Mallya also took to Twitter to slam the media.
Parivartan Sharma / Reuters

Just hours after the Scotland Yard arrested Vijay Mallya in London, the embattled liquor baron has been granted bail by the Westminster Magistrates' Court, according to media reports.

The Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit had said in a statement that Mallya was arrested "on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud...He was arrested after attending a central London police station."

Extradition formalities in the UK involve a preliminary hearing, followed by extradition hearings, and a final approval by the UK Secretary of State. The wanted person has a right to appeal to the higher courts against any decision all the way up to the supreme court.

Following his release, Mallya also took to Twitter to slam the media:

Mallya has previously said he was being subjected to a media trial and a "witch hunt" and he is innocent until anything could be proven in court.

Mallya left India in 2015 amid efforts to recover over Rs 9,000 crores in alleged non-payment of dues by his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines owed to a consortium of banks.

A number of Indian authorities have been seeking his arrest including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. Mallya was declared a proclaimed offender by a special Prevention Of Money Laundering Court by the ED in connection with a money laundering probe last year. Earlier in January, a CBI court issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.