Mallya resigns as Force India F1 director, seeks appeal in assets case

TIL Desk Sports/ Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has resigned as director of his Formula One motorsport company Force India as his legal team filed an application to seek an appeal against a 1.145-billion pound UK high court ruling on freezing of his assets.

The 62-year-old Mallya, who is fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated INR 9,000 crore, resigned as director of Sahara Force India Formula One Team Limited on May 24, according to the UK Companies House records.

Sahara India Pariwar boss Subrata Roy remains a director of the company headquartered at Silverstone in the East Midlands region of England. “The team will not be making any further comment,” said a spokesperson for Force India. Mallya was quoted in some of racing publications as saying that his son, Siddharth Mallya, would be taking on the position of company director in his place, while he continues in his role as ‘team principal’.

“There was no compulsion anywhere to resign. It’s just that I decided my son should replace me,” he told’. “I have my own legal issues to take care of, so it’s better that the company remains unaffected,” he added. The legal issues involve his extradition trial, the next hearing for which is scheduled for July 11 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.