Ketan Somaia guilty of �12m fraud
The business tycoon who was instrumental in Lyca Media’s acquisition of Sunrise Radio’s previous frequencies 1458AM and 1035AM, has been found guilty of �12 million fraud.
On Friday, a London court pronounced the 52-year old guilty of defrauding Dubai-based businessman, Murli Mirchandani claiming to be close to the Hindujas and Bollywood stars.
The trial commenced in April, leading to a guilty verdict last Friday. Judge Richard Hone concluded, “This case is exceptional for a number of reasons – the sums involved, the extraordinary lifestyles, the famous names, and the outpouring of $23 million (approx �14m) simply relying on the concept of ‘My word is my bond’.”
An Old Bailey official told Mumbai Mirror, “Sentencing will be later this month.” Mirchandani said: “Fourteen years ago I had a thriving business to hand over to my children. I have since been trying to rebuild my businesses and make Somaia accountable.”
In his media activities, Somaia took over the UK’s first satellite Asian channel, TV Asia in 1993 before selling it to ZEE TV.
Somaia has worked as a consultant for Lyca Media since last year and in February 2014, he helped in acquiring the former Sunrise Radio frequencies 1458AM and 1035AM from administrators.
He will be sentenced in the coming days.
