S'pore man sued by 3 sons over misuse of trust fund left by late grandfather, ordered to pay S$30 million in damages

A man in Singapore was ordered by the High Court to pay S$30 million in damages after his three sons sued him for misusing monies from a trust fund inherited from their late grandfather.

According to a judgment released on Jan. 30, Jethanand Harkishindas Bhojwani — also known as Sajan — did not inform them about the trust fund, transferred the assets to his own account, and also sold shares from the fund.

His sons — Devin, Dilip and Sandeep — sued him in 2021 after he was found to have repeatedly breached his duties as the fund's trustee for over 10 years.

Committed multiple breaches as trustee

The family dispute started after the 2007 death of Sajan's father, Harkishindas Ghumanmal Bhojwani, who had left him in charge of a trust fund.

The trust was valid for 30 years from the date of Harkishindas's death.

Apart from the three sons, the only other named beneficiary was their mother and Sajan's wife, Lakshmi Jethanand Bhojwani.

However, the court found that Sajan had hidden the existence of the trust from them, mixed trust funds with his own money, failed to keep proper accounts, and disposed of assets without proper justification or safeguards.

A key breach involved his role in stripping a highly valuable "founder's share" in the group's main holding company of its special rights in 2008, without obtaining compensation for the trust.

He had also sold trust shares in two companies under a family business at an undervalue and mishandled the realisation of shares in several companies that were later struck off.

Sons learned about trust fund in 2016

Sajan's acts were discovered after the three sons received a letter in September 2016 at their family residence, addressing Moti, Sajan's brother, as the property occupant instead of Sajan's immediate family.

This discrepancy led to a sequence of events where the sons investigated the ownership of the house.

They later learned about the trust fund after a meeting at a law firm.

Removed as trustee, ordered to pay damages

The court ruled that the total sums payable — including compensation, reimbursement amounts and pre-judgment interest — added up to around S$29.9 million.

Sajan argued that his actions were protected by the "absolute discretion" granted to him under the will, which he claimed had allowed him to deal with the trust "as though they were his own".

The appellate court dismissed this claim.

In a further blow, the judge agreed that Sajan should be removed as trustee, citing "a lack of proper capacity and reasonable fidelity to execute his duties as a trustee".

A professional trust company was ordered to take over administration of the trust instead.

Top photo via Google Maps