Vijay Mallya legal troubles not affecting Force India

Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya has dismissed the notion that his on-going legal troubles are affecting his team.

A warrant for Mallya's arrest was issued in India in March earlier this year in relation to money laundering charges, but the Indian businessman has always maintained his innocence.

"I have been through this before," Mallya told Autosport. "My first brush with the investigative authorities was in 1985."

"They came at me hammer and tongs for almost two years and finally found nothing, and I was completely exonerated," he continued. "So sadly in India, these investigative agencies are political tools that do not hesitate to go on a wild-goose chase, and in the process it is nothing but persecution."

"There is no other way I can describe what is happening other than a witch hunt. I just have to ride out the storm."

Mallya is currently based in London although Indian authorities have demanded he return home for questioning, something which he is currently unable to do since his passport was confiscated. However, the 60-year-old has said he is fully willing to cooperate with the investigation.

"They [the Indian authorities] have had access to many executives of Kingfisher Airlines, and they have had access to thousands of documents," Mallya revealed. "If the missing link is only to interview me, come to London and interview me, get on the radio conference and interview me, send me an email with questions and I will reply. I have nothing to hide."

"But it seems a bit contradictory and disconcerting, that just because I'm not physically present in India, that they should issue an arrest warrant and cancel my passport," he said. "What confidence does that give me about their real intentions?"

But amidst his troubles outside of Formula One, Mallya insists that Force India is now financially independent enough for its owners' respective problems to not have any effect on it's future.

Mallya and the Sahara company each own 42.5% of the team but Sahara chief Subrata Roy was sent to prison in March 2014 for financial irregularities.

"In the last three years our sponsorship is up significantly," Mallya said. "Today the gap in funding that is demanded of shareholders is almost negligible, in comparison to what it was five years ago."

"If I say the team is financially secure, and standing on its own feet, that's the truth," he continued.

Despite Roy previously seeking permission from India's Supreme Court to sell his shares in the team, Mallya insists that no offer has been made, and that he won't be selling his stake in the near future either.

"It's always good to have the permission in hand because then if you need to negotiate with a prospective buyer, you have everything ready," he said. "But there is no deal on the table, and I'm not making any effort whatsoever to either sell or to solicit investment."