Mumbai - Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay
Mallya said on Friday that his Twitter account had been
penetrated by a hacking group called Legion, which posted links
to what it alleged were details of Mallya's bank accounts,
offshore investments and luxury cars.
Mallya, a flamboyant former billionaire who made his fortune
from a liquor and beer empire, moved to Britain in March after
being pursued in courts by banks that his now defunct Kingfisher
airline owed around $1.4 billion.
"Legion will find you, hack you, expose you," read one of
several postings tweeted by the hackers on Mallya's official
Twitter account before they were erased at around 1215 IST (0645
GMT).
Mallya, who denies being an absconder, was not immediately
available for a comment, and a spokesman for his UB Group also
declined immediate comment on the hack.
But a response was tweeted on his verified Twitter account.
"Outfit called Legion has hacked my e-mail accounts and are
blackmailing me !! What a joke."
Legion came to public attention earlier last month when it
claimed to have hacked the Twitter accounts of India's Congress
party, and its vice chair Rahul Gandhi.
Mallya is wanted by law enforcement agencies and is subject
to a non-bailable warrant from a court.
The government has also revoked Mallya's diplomatic passport
which he had received as a member of the upper house of
parliament. And the Indian authorities have sought ways to have
Mallya deported by Britain.
The Enforcement Directorate, a government agency set up to
fight financial crime, has accused Mallya's UB Group of using
some of the funds lent to Kingfisher Airlines to buy property
overseas.
Mallya has denied wrongdoing, calling the charges against
him "preposterous". He had also offered a settlement to
creditors, which they refused to consider.