An Indian beer baron known as the “King of Good Times” is believed to have fled to Britain in an attempt to avoid arrest over alleged debts of $1bn (£700m). Vijay Mallya, the 60-year-old Kingfisher magnate, earned his title for his love of hosting yacht parties attended by Bollywood stars and Indian politicians.

His fortune has made him famous in his home country, where he sits in parliament. But according to local officials, he fled on 2 March, allegedly leaving $1bn in debts linked to a failed airline. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crimes agency, is seeking his deportation. “We have been given enough indication that he is indeed in the UK,” a spokesman said. “We have written to the [Indian foreign] ministry for assistance in the deportation of Mr Mallya as the process would involve using diplomatic channels.”

Last week, an Indian court issued an arrest warrant for Mallya after he failed to appear to answer questions over the finances of Kingfisher Airlines. The firm ceased operating in 2012, leaving huge unpaid bills. The ED is investigating loans made to Kingfisher Airlines by India’s state-run IDBI bank. The bank suffered huge losses on the loans, which were allegedly made despite knowledge of the carrier’s parlous finances.

Mallya inherited United Breweries Group – the company behind Kingfisher beer – from his father at the age of 28. He turned it into one of the world’s largest spirit makers, and used his wealth to host extravagant yacht parties with guests including film stars and politicians.

As the company grew to become, at one point, the world’s third largest distiller, Mallya branched out, acquiring a stake in the Force India F1 team, becoming the owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket team, and starting the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The ED has reportedly accused Mallya of siphoning money from Kingfisher to buy property abroad, a claim the company denies. He is being chased by a group of mostly state-run banks over $1.34bn in unpaid loans made to the airline.

However, Mallya is not in such deep cover that he is not fighting back at his accusers, having filed an affidavit to India’s supreme court saying his creditors had no right to information about his overseas assets.

The businessman claimed that he was an NRI – India’s equivalent of the UK’s non-domicile tax status – for income tax and foreign exchange regulation purposes since 1988. Mallya has already denied absconding and criticised the media for what he has called a “witch hunt”.

Messages to his 5.1 million Twitter followers have also continued, with some of his latest including retweets of the cricketer Chris Gayle’s announcement of the birth of his baby daughter and news reports marking the Queen’s birthday.

Earlier this month, the banks rejected his offer to repay $600m and told the top court they wanted him to return to India so that they could negotiate with him personally over the total owed.

The Home Office has not yet replied to the Guardian’s request for comment.