Vijay Mallya: Video of fugitive businessman watching IPL cricket match in London goes viral

In a rare appearance, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has been filmed watching the Indian Premier League cricket final in London. The video was uploaded to Twitter by Mallya's son, Siddhart, as the Indian government continues efforts to have the businessman extradited from the UK.

The former 'King of Good Times' has been in the UK since March, amid accusations that he owes India's state banks £900million ($1.3bn) in debts. On 16 May, Mallya said that he is willing to return to India to answer any questions about his debt as long as his safety and freedom is assured.

In the video, which has now gone viral, Siddhart can be heard saying: "Here we are together, watching from London. All excited, so hopefully this can add to what has been an epic day of sports so far. Say something, Pa, wish the team." Mallya then cheers: "Go, RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore)."

Mallya stood down from his position as RCB director days after he also resigned as chairman of United Spirits in February 2016. However, the man dubbed "India's Richard Branson" still remains the IPL side's chief mentor, with his son Siddhart sitting on the team's board.

Mallya has been making international headlines since leaving India in early March, with many Indians questioning how the government let him slip out of the country while in debt. In April, the Indian government revoked Mallya's passport and issued a formal request to the UK to have him deported. However, the request was denied and Britain told India to seek extradition instead.

On 5 May, Mallya broke his media silence by speaking to The Financial Times in London and defending his lavish lifestyle. The businessman has continued to defend himself on Twitter since leaving India, insisting that he is willing to "comply with the law of the land".

Mallya told The Financial Times: "One of the businesses I was involved with failed, sadly. There were other businesses that still exist, which are hugely successful. Should I, therefore, be a hypocrite? Because one of these businesses failed, should I live my life differently?"