Wife’s abuse charges, business losses: Growing troubles of Raymond's Gautam Singhania

Gautam Singhania, the billionaire Chairman of Raymond, has found himself in troubled waters. He has been making headlines since he declared separation from his wife, Nawaz Modi Singhania. Now, his father and Raymond Group founder Vijaypat Singhania has spoken up, saying it was a “stupid” mistake to give “everything” to his son. And it is not just personal drama that surrounds the current Raymond boss but professional worries have also cropped up as his company’s shares have plunged in recent days. Let’s take a look at how Gautam Singhania has suddenly found himself in a cocktail of controversies. Assault charges by estranged wife It all started when footage of Nawaz Modi, a professional fitness coach, being refrained from entering a Raymond Diwali party went viral. As the clip spread on social media, the billionaire later announced his split from his wife of over two decades. On 13 November, Singhania, who is also the managing director of Raymond, said in a post on X that it is not the same Diwali as in the past. “We traversed with commitment, resolve, faith as along came the two most beautiful additions of our lives,” he wrote. Talking about “unfortunate developments in the recent past”, he said there was a lot of “unsubstantiated rumour mongering and gossip” fuelled by “not so well-wishers”. “It is my belief that Nawaz and I will pursue different paths from here on,” he added. The duo has been together for 32 years and share two children. [caption id=“attachment_13426592” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Gautam Singhania and Nawaz Modi have been married for over 20 years. Instagram/gautamsinghania99[/caption] Recently, Modi accused her estranged husband of assaulting her and one of their daughters two months back, as per an Economic Times (ET) report. In an interview with India Today, the 53-year-old, who owns a fitness centre in south Mumbai, opened up about her tumultuous relationship, accusing her husband of domestic abuse. Recalling an incident on 9 September, Modi alleged the Raymond boss “punched” and “kicked” her and one of their minor daughters. She said she had to be hospitalised, and after the incident, left their house with her two children and has since been living with her parents. Singhania is likely to seek legal action following the allegations, legal sources close to him told ET. “In the interest of my two beautiful daughters, I would like to maintain my family’s dignity and I will refrain from offering any comment. Please respect my privacy.” According to ET, Modi is seeking 75 per cent of Singhania’s net worth as part of the split, which is estimated to be over Rs 11,000 crore. Vijaypat Singhania on ‘arrogant’ son Vijaypat Singhania spoke about the fresh controversy that his son has been embroiled in. Speaking to Business Today, the 85-year-old businessman, who handed over the reins of Raymond Group to Gautam in 2015, said: “Parents should think very carefully before they give away everything to their children”. “I have no business. He (Gautam) had agreed to give me some parts of the company, but of course, he backed out. So, I have nothing. I gave him everything. By mistake, I was left with some money with which I am surviving today. Otherwise, I would have been on the road,” the ex-textile magnate alleged. The senior Singhania lamented his son is “breaking up” Raymond. “It breaks my heart. But I don’t interfere. I don’t tell him what he should do. He has to live. I have lived my life. I have maybe two-three years left,” India Today quoted him as saying. [caption id=“attachment_13426612” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Raymond chairman Gautam Singhania has found himself in myriad controversies. PTI File Photo[/caption] He also said that the Raymond boss, whom he called an “arrogant person”, would be “happy to see me on the road”. The discord between the father and son came to the forefront in 2017 when Vijaypat Singhania alleged his son did not hand him a duplex in the multi-storey JK House building in Mumbai as promised. Expressing support for his daughter-in-law, the senior Singhania said she is liable to get a portion of Gautam’s holdings under the Hindu Marriage Act. He also said his son would never agree to give her 75 per cent of his wealth. “Why is she fighting for 75 per cent? Gautam is never going to give in, because his motto is - buy everybody and buy everything. That’s what he did with me,” he told Business Today.  On whether the controversy would harm Raymond’s reputation, the elder Singhania said, “Raymond has a very large number of mature, logical shareholders. They can think for themselves. If they see something bad, they react quickly”. Raymond’s shares tumble Raymond Ltd’s stock has tumbled since Singhania announced his separation from his wife – who is also a board member of the company, triggering uncertainty among investors. Nawaz is a non-executive director at the company, as per Mint. According to Bloomberg, their acrimonious split has wiped off $180 million (approximately Rs 1500 crore) in the market value of Raymond. Promoters owned a 49.11 per cent stake in Raymond as of 30 September, reported Mint.  “Uncertainty around the separation is weighing on the stock. Nobody knows what kind of impact it will have on the company,” Varun Singh, an analyst at ICICI Securities Ltd, told Bloomberg. “Since the wife is a board member, this has become a corporate governance issue.” With inputs from agencies