India on Sunday revoked the passport of a flamboyant Indian businessman accused of fleeing to London in March while owing more than a $1 billion to Indian banks.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said the decision to revoke Vijay Mallya's passport was taken considering the evidence gathered by India's Enforcement Directorate, which has been investigating the tycoon's massive debts.

The ministry was also consulting legal experts on seeking Mallya's deportation from the UK to face charges of money laundering and financial irregularities.

The opposition Congress party has accused the government of letting Mallya flee India while being pursued by banks for debts totaling 90 billion rupees ($1.3 billion). The government denies the charge.

India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley defended Mallya's departure, saying the banks had not initiated the legal process to prevent him from leaving by the time he boarded the flight out of India.

The Enforcement Directorate told the government that Mallya was not cooperating with the investigators, after he ignored three dates when he was summoned to give evidence to them.

The government last week suspended the businessman's passport, after giving him a week to explain why his passport should not be revoked.

The government was committed to bringing Mallya back to India to face justice and was "considering steps for Mallya's deportation", Swarup told reporters.

Mallya was once hailed as India's version of British tycoon Richard Branson for his investments in a brewing and liquor company, an airline, a Formula One team and an Indian Premier League cricket club.

His downfall was triggered by the failure of Kingfisher Airlines, which he launched in 2005. The Indian government in 2012 suspended the license of the airline after it failed to pay pilots and engineers for months.

(China Daily 04/25/2016 page13)