Bhadresh Gohil’s money laundering conviction revealed £28 million he had hidden from ex-wife Varsha
The UK High Court has awarded Varsha Gohil, the ex-wife of former solicitor Bhadresh Gohil, £6.6 million in a decision that closes out a divorce battle that has gone on for 23 years, reported the Times of India.
The battle was described by the Times of India as one of the longest-running divorce disputes in Britain. Varsha had challenged the settlement she received from her ex-husband after filing for divorce in 2002 on the grounds of adultery and unreasonable behavior. The initial settlement she took was £270,000 and the family Peugeot.
In determining the financial settlement for a divorce, parties are required by UK law to present all their assets and income. Varsha suspected that Bhadresh had been dishonest about his net worth and returned to court in 2007 with evidence that she claimed proved this.
In 2011, Bhadresh was convicted on money laundering and forgery charges, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s investigation revealed that he had assets worth approximately £28 million concealed across the globe. In 2015, the UK Supreme Court handed down a watershed decision permitting Varsha to apply for a new settlement in High Court.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service claimed during a 2023 High Court proceeding that Bhadresh’s money should be subject to criminal recovery proceedings since it was earned from criminal activity. Bhadresh also argued that the £28 million did not belong to him and should not be factored into divorce settlements.
Varsha countered that Bhadresh had come into possession of the assets while married to her; thus, the £28 million was part of the marital fortune.
Justice David Williams determined that prosecutors could not prove that all £28 million were proceeds from crime; some were earned through legitimate businesses operating during Varsha and Bhadresh’s marriage. The judge decided that Varsha was entitled to £6.6 million while calling Bhadresh “pervasively dishonest” in a statement published by the Times of India.
Williams also lambasted Bhadresh’s self-presentation as an industrious family man subject to unfair treatment as “so very far from the truth that it is hard to comprehend how he can put it forward,” per a statement published by the Times of India.
