A mansion sitting on top of a skyscraper in the Indian city of Bangalore has attracted attention, not just for its unlikely aesthetic and lavish composition, but also because the owner of the mega home is unlikely to set foot in it.
The two-storey replica of the White House, located at 400 feet, is built on the top of Kingfisher Towers and covers an area of 40,000 square metres.
The $20million mansion sits upon a giant cantilever slab on the top of the skyscraper in the luxury retail and office space UB City and is built on a 4.5-acre land parcel that once held the owner’s ancestral home.
Vijay Mallya, the son of United Breweries Group founder Vittal Mallay, left India in March 2016 as lenders and investigating agencies came after him, after he allegedly borrowed huge sums of money and never returned any of it.
Mallya, 67, has been fighting against the charges ever since, and India has been attempting to get him extradited from the UK.
The mansion was supposed to feature a wine cellar, an indoor heated pool and an outdoor infinity pool, as well as a rooftop helipad, among other amenities, but the finished product has remained shrouded in mystery since Mallya announced plans to have the dream home constructed in 2010.
The 34-storey skyscraper houses around 81 apartments across three blocks.
It was developed as an extension of UB City, which was built under a joint development agreement between United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) and Prestige Estates Projects Ltd. UBHL owns 55 per cent and the developer owns the other 45 per cent.
In July last year Mallya received a four-month jail term for contempt of court.
The tycoon, whose empire included a Formula One motor racing team, an Indian Premier League cricket franchise, breweries, distilleries, and an airline, received a fine of Rs2,000 (about £21) for transferring $40 million to his children, contravening court orders.
Mallya fled to the UK over allegations that he siphoned millions from $1.4 billion in loans to Kingfisher Airlines to purchase properties and fund his flashy lifestyle, rather than using it to bolster the airline.
He was granted conditional bail after his arrest in March 2017.
In 2020 his efforts to avoid extradition were brought to a close when his final appeal in the High Court was dismissed, although he has remained in the UK since then.
In response to a question about the extradition of Mallya and Nirav Modi, another Indian billionaire wanted in India on charges of money laundering and fraud, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said in August that the UK has no intention of becoming a place to hide those seeking to evade justice.
Tugendhat said that the UK government is committed to extraditing fugitives to bring them to justice, and that it is closely working with the Indian government on the cases of Mallya and Modi.
He said the UK will not allow its legal system to be used to protect criminals.
