London-based Rajasthan royal faces creditor ire over £8,000 business class tickets to Dubai

UBS, among other creditors, is pursuing Anil Kumar of Vincom Commodities to recover $14 million. (Image: Reuters)

In July 2023, Anil Kumar, a former metal trader and director of Vincom Commodities Ltd, sought permission from the high court in London to sell his two properties in Dubai. Kumar, who belongs to the royal family of Sikar in Rajasthan and lives in London, has a worldwide freezing order (WFO) made against him in November 2022, and is being pursued by UBS, among other creditors, to recover $14 million. Kumar’s application stated that he wants the sale proceeds to be deposited in his Natwest bank account in London to fund his legal expenses.

A WFO order is made on application by creditors to prevent dissipation of assets thus preventing sale of properties, but exceptions are made to allow for living and legal expenses to be met. Kumar claimed that the £36,000 annual salary and the available funds in bank accounts, which he had disclosed, were not sufficient to meet the mounting legal costs and hence he should be allowed to sell the two Dubai properties. Kumar’s application was opposed by UBS which claimed that he has access to other assets or sources of funding which could be used and hence he should not be allowed to sell the Dubai properties.

At one point Kumar’s Ransat Group operated in 15 countries employing 6,500 people with a group turnover of $500 million. But now he faces allegations from UBS that under his watch funds belonging to Vincom Commodities Ltd were siphoned off to family members after it became insolvent. Vincom was placed under liquidation in January 2018, as a result of a petition filed by Israel Discount Bank (IDB), which had also loaned money to the company. UBS had signed a credit agreement with Vincom in 2014 and alleges that Kumar entered into sham transactions with companies owned by his family members, a claim stoutly denied by Kumar. The matter will go on trial later, but as mentioned earlier, UBS managed to get a WFO against Kumar in November 2022.

At that time, a weekly living expense of £4,000 was set for Kumar. This was taken to be a reasonable amount based on Kumar’s lifestyle. He lived at a fancy address near Hyde Park, drove a Lexus which had a personalized number plate and dined at expensive and fancy restaurants. Within days, it seems, he sought to increase the weekly living expense to £6,000. Ultimately, the living expense was reduced to £2,500 per month. As per Kumar’s own disclosure in compliance with the WFO, he had assets (Dubai properties) and cash balance worth just under £1 million, and an annual salary of £36,000.

Kumar claimed that having exhausted the cash balance in his bank accounts, he would now have to sell his Dubai properties to fund the legal costs. His inability to pay his solicitors meant they came off the record and he was now being represented by counsel acting pro bono. UBS, however, maintained that Kumar was being economical with the truth and that his asset position was inconsistent with the evidence.

The bank pointed out Kumar’s own previous correspondence to them about a family trust which had considerable wealth, to make the point that he had access to funds from other sources. In his evidence Kumar told the court that he does not have full information about his family members’ wealth. He also told the court that he was not supported by his daughter or wider family. Regarding the family trust, he told the court that he is not a beneficiary and does not know who the trustees of the Family Trust are.

Deputy Judge Louise Hutton, who had to rule on whether Kumar can be allowed to sell the Dubai property, concluded that “the court cannot be satisfied for the purpose of this application that the Family Trusts is not an available source of funding for Mr Kumar’s legal expenses”, but it was Kumar’s desire to fly business class to Dubai in February 2023 that greatly contributed to Kumar’s application being refused.

In January 2023, Kumar sought UBS’s consent to visit Dubai flying business class costing £8000. His total Dubai trip expenses were to come to £11,000. UBS’s counsel Michael Ryan told the court that the trip’s expense was inconsistent with Kumar’s claim of facing financial problems. “It is very difficult to see a request in February 2023 to spend £8,000 on business class flights to Dubai as consistent with Mr Kumar having only the assets disclosed by him pursuant to the WFO and an income of £36,000 per year,” noted the court in the judgment made on 4 August 2023.