Hinduja Succession Feud: Inside the epically messy inheritance dispute of UK's wealthiest family

For the longest possible time, the Hindujas represented the perfect image of an Indian diaspora family - a joint family unit, living together, pooling all of their resources, toiling hard together and building an empire that would leave foreigners (in this case, Brittons) in awe. For decades, the family was known for two things - for managing some of the biggest corporate businesses the United Kingdom, and the world had ever seen, and, for consistently being the richest family in the UK. The last few years, however, have revealed the dark side of what was going on inside the family. Since 2014, the public has been an audience to one of the ugliest property disputes, a feud so nasty, that it consistently made headlines. The death of Srichand Hinduja, the erstwhile patriarch of the family has reopened Pandora’s box that everyone thought was long closed No wonder, if Succession, HBO’s hit TV show, ever needed to have an Indian version, it should just be a documentary of sorts, following the lives of the Hindujas The Letter At The Root Of All This The four Hinduja brothers - Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok Hinduja - had been involved in a legal battle over their multi-billion fortune and at the crux of the dispute was a letter from 2014. Dated July 2, 2014, the letter declares that the assets held by one brother are collective property, with each appointing the others as executors. Nevertheless, 84-year-old patriarch Srichand Hinduja and his daughter Vinoo seek to render the letter invalid, stating the patriarch of the family, no longer saw the arrangement as a viable one. This was so because of one major asset that was solely owned by Srichand himself - the Switzerland-based Hinduja bank, which had stakes in several other of the family’s businesses. The other three brothers wanted to take control of the bank, using the aforementioned letter. The Hinduja Succession Feud In 2019, Srichand initiated legal proceedings at the Business and Property Court in London to declare the letter revocable. Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok contested this action, objecting to both Srichand’s representation by his daughter Vinoo and the notion that Vinoo had her own separate financial interest in the case. The three brothers argued that an independent solicitor should represent Srichand instead. Srichand’s wife Madhu and their other daughter Shanu appeared as witnesses, affirming Vinoo’s appointment as Srichand’s representative in the court proceedings (litigation friend). Justice Falk was informed that Srichand is afflicted by an “age-related disease.” Justice Falk affirmed Vinoo as Srichand’s litigation friend, acknowledging that the defendants may believe Vinoo acted against Srichand’s best interests. However, the judge noted that Vinoo and other immediate family members, whom Srichand chose as his attorneys, are better positioned to assess this than the opposing parties. In the Hinduja Bank, Srichand’s family solidified their position. Karam Hinduja, the 29-year-old son of Shanu Hinduja, assumed the role of CEO, while Shanu Hinduja herself became the Chairperson. Srichand Hinduja held the position of Chairman Emeritus. As of 2018, Hinduja Bank, headquartered in Switzerland, possessed total assets worth 343 million Swiss francs or approximately Rs 2,744 crore. Reaching A Settlement In 2022, reports started surfacing that the family were going to settle the matter among themselves and ensure that the property and assets were distributed equitably among the children of the family. This was after Srichand Hinduja’s children claimed that their family was being sidelined in the group’s businesses and had challenged the letter which was the basis of succession planning. The Death of The Patriarch and Reopening of A Pandora’s Box Last week, Srichand Hinduja passed away, immediately after which, things started taking an ugly turn. In a London court, during the proceedings representing Srichand Hinduja and the Hinduja family, Srichand Hinduja’s lawyer confirmed that the dispute between Gopichand Hinduja and his niece remains unresolved, indicating that no truce has been reached between the two parties. According to Nikki Singla, the lawyer representing Srichand’s interests, ongoing negotiations for broader settlements are taking place. However, Gopichand and Srichand’s daughter has not yet resolved their differences concerning the utilization of the 2014 letter. Singla emphasized that the complex situation involves numerous assets spread across different jurisdictions and that there seems to have been a lack of prior consideration for such a division in the event of such circumstances arising. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.