Swiss Bank Wants Moolah, Not Mallya; Moves UK Court To Evict Him From Mortgaged London Mansion

UBS AG, a Swiss bank, is trying to evict Vijay Mallya and his family from their mansion near Regent’s Park in London. UK High Court has received an application from the bank that seeks to possess the property on the grounds of mortgage. The hearing is likely to take place on 24 October.

UBS has also named Rose Capital Ventures Ltd, which had taken a five-year interest-only mortgage on the aforementioned property in 2012 at a cost of Rs 195 crore, Times of India reported. According to UBS, Mallya and his family are the beneficiaries of the trust since Rose Capital is owned by Gladco, which is in turn owned by Sileta trust, that belongs to Mallya’s family.

The leasehold property, which is at 18, 19 Cornwall Terrace, was acquired by Rose Capital in 2005 for Rs 52 crore. But Blake Morgan LLP’s representative Barrister Jonathan Gavaghan says that UBS doesn’t hold any rights to the property since Rose Capital has been making interest payments on time. They termed UBS’s claim as a ‘breach of mortgage terms.’

But all the assurances provided to Mallya from UBS have apparently been oral in nature, and nothing in written. Following this, HC issued an order that nullified the solicitor to defend Rose Capital. A trial is scheduled for five days in May 2019.