Former F1 team owner sentenced to 4 months in prison

Former F1 team owner sentenced to 4 months in prison

Former F1 team owner sentenced to 4 months in prison. Image: Studio 1a Photography/Shutterstock.com

One-time owner of the Force India F1 team, Vijay Mallya, has been given a four-months prison sentence.

Vijay Mallaya, ex-owner of the Force India F1 team, was given four months of prison time by India’s Supreme Court on Monday, July 11.

Mallaya was given the prison sentence after refusing to disclose his assets after defaulting on a loan of €1.2 billion.

Indian Mallaya took out the loan following the collapse of his airline, Kingfisher Airlines which ceased operations in October 2012.

The Indian Supreme Court also fined Mallaya €25 in relation to a contempt of court case in 2017 related to tranferring $40 million to his children which was in violation of court orders at the time.

Mallaya has been ordered to transfer $40 million, plus 8 per cent of interest, to the Indian Supreme Court’s legal services authority.

The former F1 boss’ prison term will be extended to six months in total if he refuses to make the payment.

Mallaya owned the Force India F1 team from 2007-2019, with the team later being taken over by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.

Stroll later renamed the team after one of his other investments, Aston Martin, and hired his son Lance Stroll to drive alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Mallaya was seen in the paddock at the British Grand Prix on July on July 3, which was won by Spain’s Carlos Sainz

Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was also in trouble with authorities on July 11, when he was charged in a £400 million fraud case by the Crown Prosecution Service.


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Written by

Tom Hurley

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