- Varsha Gohil secured 6.6 million pounds in a UK divorce payout after 20 years of legal battles
- The original 2002 divorce settlement was challenged due to undisclosed assets by her husband
- Bhadresh Gohil was convicted in 2011 for money laundering and sentenced to 10 years in prison
A divorce that appeared settled more than two decades ago has finally come to an end, with Indian-origin woman Varsha Gohil securing a 6.6 million pounds (around Rs 85 crore) payout in one of the UK's most remarkable divorce battles.
The case began in 2002 when Varsha Gohil filed for divorce from her husband, Bhadresh Gohil, citing adultery and unreasonable behaviour. At the time, the couple had three children and reached what seemed to be a straightforward financial settlement. Varsha accepted about 270,000 pounds (around Rs 3.5 crore) and kept the family's Peugeot car.
But she never fully believed that all of her husband's assets had been disclosed.
Criminal Case Changes Everything
For years, there was little evidence to support those doubts. That changed when Bhadresh Gohil became the focus of a major money-laundering investigation linked to associates of former Nigerian governor James Ibori.
Authorities accused him of helping move millions of pounds through offshore structures and client accounts. Following a lengthy investigation, he was convicted of money laundering, forgery and conspiracy to defraud. In 2011, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The criminal proceedings uncovered assets worth tens of millions of pounds that had not surfaced during the original divorce case. Prosecutors later moved to freeze nearly 28 million pounds that they alleged had been hidden through a network of companies operating across different countries.
The discoveries gave fresh momentum to Varsha's long-running effort to challenge the original divorce settlement.
Supreme Court Reopens the Divorce
The dispute eventually reached the UK's Supreme Court.
In a landmark ruling in 2015, judges allowed Varsha to reopen the financial settlement, holding that a spouse who fails to fully disclose assets should not benefit from that failure.
Even then, the fight was far from over.
The Crown Prosecution Service argued that the frozen assets were entirely the proceeds of crime and should be used for confiscation proceedings. Varsha maintained that at least part of the wealth had been built through legitimate businesses during the marriage and should be treated as matrimonial property.
Meanwhile, Bhadresh Gohil argued that the assets did not belong to him at all.
Court Awards 6.6 Million Pounds
The matter ultimately landed before the High Court, where Justice Williams examined competing claims over the frozen wealth.
The judge concluded that a portion of the assets had legitimate origins and formed part of the couple's marital estate. He identified around 6.66 million pounds in untainted assets and awarded that amount to Varsha Gohil.
"The husband's conduct is at the highest end of the scale in terms of dishonesty and its consequences," Justice Williams was reported as saying.
The judge was also critical of Bhadresh Gohil's defence, describing him as "thoroughly and pervasively dishonest," according to the Daily Mail.
Commenting on the extraordinary legal saga, Justice Williams observed that the name "Gohil will linger long in the memories of lawyers and judges across a range of jurisdictions" because of the "tortuous route" the litigation had taken.
Last month, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that there would be no further appeals, bringing the case to a close.
