A judge granted multi-millionaire, Indian-born Murli Mirchandani, nearly £500,000 of taxpayers' money after he brought the private prosecution against Ketan Somaia, a former business associate.
Ketan Somaia was sentenced to eight years imprisonment at the Old Bailey, London. As he was convicted of nine counts of fraud.
Judges awarded Mirchandani £461,362 in cost which would help him bring a confiscation hearing against his former business partner.
Somaia had allegedly wooed victims with champagne parties, flights on private jets, extravagant dinners and trips to South Africa, Kenya and Dubai.
At the hearing, Judge Richard Hone QC said, “He [Mirchandani] is not in good health and there comes a time where perhaps there should be reimbursement from expenditure in prosecution and confiscation costs.”
It is said that lawyers for Mirchandani are hoping to regain some of the £13 million defrauded by Ketan Somaia.
