The interior designer had been seeking £100 million
On May 12, 2020, a High Court judge ruled that a woman is entitled to £60 million after the breakdown of her marriage to her rich Indian husband.
Simrin Choudhrie and her multi-millionaire private equity firm boss husband Bhanu Choudhrie had fought over tens of millions of pounds at hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
Mr Justice Cohen considered the dispute at private hearings, where journalists were banned from giving out extensive details.
The case involved some of Britain’s leading divorce lawyers.
Mrs Choudhrie, aged 38, was represented by top divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, also known as ‘Steel Magnolia’.
Baroness Shackleton led a team that included barristers Stewart Leech QC, Daniel Bentham and Amy Kisser.
The interior designer had been seeking £100 million from her husband, however, this was reduced by 40% in a ruling by Mr Cohen.
Mr Choudhrie, aged 41, is the founder of Westminster-based global private equity firm C&C Alpha Group and comes from one of India’s wealthiest families, which has a rumoured net worth of £1.6 billion.
He was represented by solicitor Ayesha Vardag, who is known for her 2010 Supreme Court victory that strengthened the status of prenuptial agreements in English law.
Her team of barristers included Richard Todd QC, Nicholas Yates QC and Ben Wooldridge.
Mr Choudhrie is the son of Sudhir Choudhrie, who has donated over £1.5 million to the Lib Dems since 2004.
The rich Indian husband had earlier sued his then-wife in an attempt to prevent her from disclosing “pillow talk” information after he was being questioned about a Rolls-Royce corruption inquiry.
Mr Choudhrie and his father were arrested and questioned by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in 2014 as part of an inquiry into bribery allegations.
Both men were later released and no further action was taken.
Journalists had been allowed to attend the divorce hearings but strict limits were placed on what could be revealed. The pair could be named and the approximate size of Mrs Choudhrie’s lump sum reported.
Mrs Choudhrie appeared on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire in 2011.
She posed as a penniless pregnant woman who later gave £100,000 to a centre for vulnerable people in Sheffield.
The couple lived in a £20 million, six-storey home in Belgravia, Central London.
In 2015, they extended it by adding a two-storey basement including a cinema, pool and spa complex, all of which could be accessed by a lift.
Neighbours complained, saying that the plans were “grotesque” and that construction work would lead to lorries driving up and down the street.
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