An intervention from the Indian sports ministry has prompted businessman and Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya to resign as India's representative to the FIA's World Motorsport Council (WMSC). The 61-year-old businessman, who has been accused of money laundering and defrauding banks in India was asked to resign as per a directive sent by the sports ministry, FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India) President Akbar Ebrahim confirmed.
Commenting about the matter, Akbar Ebrahim said, "Soon after I informed Mallya about the letter from the sports ministry, he tendered his resignation at FIA's recent WMSC meeting in Geneva. FIA, in turn, confirmed FMSCI its acceptance."
Earlier this year, Mallya was removed as the chairman of the FMSCI, but continued to represent the country at the WMSC. The former Kingfisher Airlines owner is currently residing in the UK since the past year, after his passport was revoked by the Indian authorties for non-payment of dues to the tune of $1.4 billion (around Rs. 9000 crore).
In the past year, Mallya was unable to attend any of the World motorsport Council meetings, and instead it was Vicky Chandhok who represented the country on his behalf. Mallya was serving his third term at the FIA, which was scheduled to end on October 2017.
For the next few months, India won't have any representative at the FIA. "We will only be able to nominate someone in October. We will decide the representative in our next council meeting," added Akbar.
With the ouster from FMSCI and the resignation from the FIA, Vijay Mallya's association with Indian motorsport seems to be fading fast. The last straw remains the Force India F1 team; however, the exiled businessman recently suggested that the team was planning for a name overhaul and even registered a group of companies in the UK with the possible new name 'Force One'.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
