London: The high court in London on Wednesday declined to approve the sale of a 4,079 square feet duplex apartment near Baker Street station in Central London that was bought in 2017 by a trust company on behalf of tainted diamantaire Nirav Modi.
The order came after Trident Trust which owns the apartment claimed that it needed to sell the apartment for £4.25 million to meet liabilities pertaining to the property and the Trust’s own bills and legal expenses. Additionally, it also sought approval to borrow £1.5 million against the property to meet those liabilities. In March 2024, the court had allowed the sale of the property on the condition that it not be sold for less than £5.25 million. It’s on account of this court-imposed price cap that Trident Trust were back in court seeking approval to sell the property for a million less citing sluggish market condition.
The presiding judge said he was not in a “position to bless” Trident’s proposal. “I do not consider there is evidence of the trustee’s decision-making process,” he observed, adding that there was also “ambiguity” as to what the trustee proposed to do with the borrowed money.
The duplex apartment which was Nirav Modi’s primary residence in London has been connected to the ₹16, 672 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, as per the Enforcement Directorate which is probing the case.
Trident Trust was created in December 2017 in the name of Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Modi and her adult children as beneficiaries. However, Nirav Modi has claimed that since he had loaned ₹6.5 crore to buy the Baker Street property, any money from its sale should accrue to him. Trident Trust also sought to know from ED whether the agency would unfreeze the $13 million in a Swiss bank belonging to it. It is the Trust’s contention that if ED agrees to unfreeze the money it could be used to pay the liabilities accrued on the property without selling the apartment or borrowing funds against it.
Harish Salve, KC, representing the Enforcement Directorate, told the court on Wednesday that the agency is not inclined to release the funds. “As far as the ED is concerned, we support the sale of the property,” said Salve. He also pointed out that if Trident Trust is allowed to borrow money it would involve payment of 18% interest which would be not prudent. “As long as the property is sitting vacant it does not serve any purpose. But if it can’t be let out, we support the position to sell.”
Nirav Modi appeared in the court through video conference from Thameside prison where he has been lodged since March 2019. Modi’s barrister James Kinman told the court that the Trident Trust should be allowed to borrow only £400,000 which would be sufficient to meet the expenses and not £1.5 million. He also opposed the proposal to sell the apartment. “The trustee’s decision-making in this regard has been unduly influenced by the convenience of having a large pool of liquid assets from which to pay its own fees and the fees of its lawyers,” the court was told on behalf of Modi.
The proceedings on Wednesday reflect what happens when prime properties occupied by high net-worth individuals through complex trust ownership fall vacant and into disrepair.