Billionaire Rai sons in bitter fight over multi-billion wealth

Rai Family Net Worth: The lid on details of the vast estate that is owned by the Rai family could soon be lifted. This is after the family members went to the High Court in protest over a Will that was left behind by the family’s patriarch Tarlochan Singh Rai who died on December 28, 2010, in Mumbai, India.

In the new court battle, Jasbir and Iqbal are objecting to the Will. The two sons argue that the family patriarch could have been coerced into crafting the Will that distributed his assets among his eight beneficiaries. The Will is dated December 17, 1999. The executor of the Will is Jaswant Rai who is the chairman of Rai Group.

In the court case, they are also protesting Jaswant Rai’s bid to get the court’s permission to administer the multi-billion business. The business which has spread and dominated the sugar sector also has a presence across East Africa, Malawi, India and London. The businesses include cement production (Rai Cement), edible oils and soaps (Menengai Oil Refineries), saw milling (Timsales, RaiPly and Webuye Panpaper), wheat farming, horticulture, sugar industry (Kabras Sugar) and real estate (Tulip Properties).

Jaswant has however defended the Will. He has argued that his father distributed the rightful share of his wealth to each family member rightfully, including Tejpal who passed away. The beneficiaries included his wife, Sarjij, his sons Jasbir, Jaswant, Sarbjit and Iqbal as well as daughters Hertej Ashwin Oza, Daljit Kaur Hans and Sarbjit.

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This has been contested by the two sons. Their late mother, Sarjij Kaur was part of the petition contesting the list of beneficiaries and the listed stakes. Sarjij and her sons had told the court that Rai had left nothing to Jasbir, Iqbal and daughter Daljit. They had also contested that a daughter, Hertej, had not been sufficiently provided for in the Will, and urged that she receive additional property.

They also accuse Jaswant of leaving behind huge chunks of wealth left behind by the family’s patriarch. The properties provided by Jaswant in court include Rai Plywoods (K) Ltd, Rai Produces Ltd, Rai Holdings Ltd, Rai Agriculture Enterprises Ltd, Rai Investments Ltd and Rai Ceramics Ltd, Tulip Properties Ltd, Rai Expo Park Ltd, and houses in Kampala, Runda in Nairobi and in Canada.