Vijay Mallya made clear his reluctance to return “unless assured of a fair trial in India, if at all there needs to be a trial” .

In an interview with Reuters in his Formula One team's hospitality tent at the British Grand Prix, The Force India owner said: “I am willing to answer all their questions. But why only in India? And why after my passport has been revoked?”

Any hearing, he said, could as easily be done in England or by video conferencing. “For me, England is as much home," said Mallya, who has had an indefinite right of residency there since 1992.

Mallya said the amount he owed to banks was probably half what the media was reporting, once various amounts of interest were stripped out. “I gave a limited personal guarantee which is in court because I have challenged the validity of the guarantee. There is no judgment on that,” he said.

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