Keystone Law litigation partner Kelly Tinkler has successfully advised Mr Siddhant Varma in both a High Court trial and subsequent appeal in which liquidators sought to recover money from the businessman after having no knowledge that his £2 million inheritance was in fact received from a bankrupt hotel development business.

The latest judgment followed suit with previous judgments and dismissed all claims against Siddhant Varma, including those for the return of £2.4 million in company funds. Kelly has been advising on this case since 2019.

Siddhant Varma was named as a respondent by liquidators after his father, Sanjiv Varma, was found by the court to have orchestrated a fraud by acting as the de-facto director of Grosvenor Property Developers Limited, claiming to be acquiring and redeveloping the Grosvenor Hotel in Bristol into student accommodation.

Siddhant Varma has maintained throughout the case that he had no involvement in Grosvenor and he was expecting and thought that the £2 million he received was indeed an inheritance from his late grandmother.

In the ruling, the judge said:

“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.”

Commenting on the case, Kelly Tinkler said:

“We are delighted that following the trial judge dismissing all claims against our client, the appeal judge has followed suit to totally vindicate him.”

He added:

“After advising Siddhant Varma on this case for over two years, and numerous court hearings, the latest judgment has once again exonerated him.”

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