Force India boss Mallya arrested in London

Force India team principal and owner Vijay Mallya has been arrested in London on behalf of Indian authorities, it has been confirmed.

The Metropolitan Police announced via a statement that Mallya was arrested on Tuesday morning and will appear in court on fraud charges.

"Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extradition warrant," the statement read. "Vijay Mallya, 61 (18/12/1955), was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.

"He was arrested after attending a central London police station, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later today, 18 April."

Mallya himself tweeted following the statement: "Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected."

The 61-year-old is wanted in India to face accusations of fraud, as well as bank demands that he repay more than $1 billion in loans extended to his airline – Kingfisher Airlines – that collapsed in early 2013.

Mallya has been stuck in the UK since his Indian passport was revoked last year. Mallya was present at the Force India team's car launch at Silverstone in February but as a result has been unable to attend any races since.

Force India is co-owned by Mallya and Sahara founder Subrata Roy, with the latter having been looking to sell his stake since being imprisoned in 2014 for failing to return Sahara investors' deposits.

Despite the owners' issues, Force India has continued to enjoy success on the track, with the team achieving its best-ever result of fourth place in the constructors' championship last season, a position it currently holds in this year's standings. It also secured a lucrative sponsorship deal with Austrian-headquartered water brand BWT that resulted in the team taking on a pink livery for 2017.