British administrators have failed in an attempt to recover money from the Dubai-based grandson of an Indian millionaire after an inheritance passed through the books of a bankrupt hotel development.
Siddhant Varma, 29, had been given £2 million ($2.7m) from the sale of his late grandmother's £5m diamond jewellery collection, London's High Court heard.
His father, Sanjiv Varma, had told his son she had wished him to receive a £2m inheritance and he sold the jewels through his UAE company, Grosvenor Consultants FZE, to a UK property development company.
The court heard that £2m was transferred from Grosvenor Consultants FZE to Nirmala Varma's grandson in 2017.
Grosvenor Property Developers Limited was incorporated in December 2016 for the purpose of acquiring and redeveloping the Grosvenor Hotel in Bristol into student accommodation.
The development and purchase never took place and the liquidators for the company are now seeking to retrieve £7.6m invested into the scheme.
The High Court heard Mr Varma's father had allegedly been a de facto director of Grosvenor Property Developers Limited. The liquidators called into question the existence of the diamonds and had sought to retrieve the £2m which had been given to his son.
This week, Mr Justice Michael Green dismissed an appeal by the liquidators over the funds.
“An important part of this appeal and the other judgments is the story of the diamonds and jewellery,” he said.
“The first respondent, Sanjiv Varma, has maintained that the diamonds were family heirlooms and that his mother, Nirmala Varma, had given him the diamonds with instructions to sell them and to give £2 million of the proceeds to her grandson.
“The first respondent said that the diamonds were invested by way of capital contribution in GCFZE, a company incorporated in the United Arab Emirates and wholly owned and controlled by the first respondent.
“GCFZE then purportedly sold the diamonds to the company for £4.95 million, of which £3.123 million was paid, and out of that, Siddhant Varma, was paid £2 million. Siddhant Varma's case throughout is that he was not involved at all in the company's business and he was expecting and thought that the £2 million was indeed an inheritance from his grandmother that had been promised to him.
“The appellants' case is that this was a fraud perpetrated on the company whose money was simply misappropriated.”
A previous judge had also dismissed the case against Siddhant Varma, ruling that even though it was an “extraordinary story” he had “no knowledge” of the property company.
“Siddhant Varma had no knowledge of the business in Bristol and he trusted his father as he appeared to be a wealthy and successful businessman.
“The judge therefore rejected the knowing or unconscionable receipt claim against Siddhant Varma on the grounds of a lack of knowledge.”
Mr Varma's lawyers told The National they were delighted with the result.
“We are delighted that following the trial judge dismissing all claims against our client, Mr Siddhant Varma, the appeal judge has followed suit, again totally vindicating our client," his lawyer Kelly Tinkler, a partner at Keystone Law said.
"After advising him on this case for over two years, and numerous court hearings, the latest judgment has once again totally exonerated him.”
The liquidators have retrieved £20m from the other respondents in the case.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Frida%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarla%20Gutierrez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Frida%20Kahlo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Woman%20King%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gina%20Prince-Bythewood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Viola%20Davis%2C%20Thuso%20Mbedu%2C%20Sheila%20Atim%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20John%20Boyega%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
John Cena v Triple H
Matches to be announced
WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.
It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.
They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
FIXTURES
All games 6pm UAE on Sunday:
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
