UK court releases Indian tycoon on bail after brief arrest

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya was released on bail in London after police arrested him on an extradition request from India, where he is accused of fraud, British police said on Tuesday.

"Vijay Mallya, 61, was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud," the police said in a statement.

He was presented in Westminster Magistrates Court, which released him on bail.

The flamboyant financier secretly fled India in March 2016, owing more than $1.4 billion after defaulting on loan payments to state-owned banks and allegedly misusing the funds.

India submitted an extradition request to Britain in February after investigators demanded that Mallya be brought home to face charges.

Mallya, who has often accused Indian media of hyping his case, said his extradition hearing "started as expected".

He has repeatedly dismissed the charges against him and defended himself in messages from his personal account on social media network Twitter.

Mallya, who once branded himself the "King of Good Times" and was known for his extravagant lifestyle, was sacked in February from the board of United Breweries, the company through which he once controlled his business empire.

He made Kingfisher beer a global brand and ran a now-defunct airline with the same name, besides being the owner of a cricket side and a Formula One team.