Divorce battle: Indian-origin couple fights over space trip

London: An Indian-origin couple in the UK are caught up in a divorce battle, which includes a £160,000 ticket on the futuristic first commercial flight into space on British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s famed Virgin Galactic.

Meera Manek is taking her husband, Ashish Thakkar, to the UK High Court next week to dispute his claims that his assets are worth just £445,532.

The 33-year-old food writer and blogger insists that Mr Thakkar is in fact a billionaire, the Daily Telegraph reported.

“The Virgin Galactic flight will be discussed in court. It is an asset Ashish still holds and will be considered as part of the investigation into his total wealth. Meera will demand the cost of the ticket be counted in his assets. She could demand he cashes it in,” the daily quoted a source as saying.

Mr Thakkar was among the first to sign up for Mr Branson’s dream project of launching the first commercial flight into space. The total amount of the tickets are paid up front but the tickets on Virgin Galactic are fully refundable up until the date of the flight.

The UK High Court will now decide over the course of a five-day hearing, beginning on Monday, the total value of Mr Thakkar’s assets and a further trial will then determine how much Ms Manek should receive as part of the divorce settlement.

Mr Thakkar is a Dubai-based businessman and is the owner of the Mara Group. He was born in Leicester, UK.

The 35-year-old married Ms Manek in 2008 but the couple separated in 2013. His soon-to-be ex-wife claims that her estranged husband is the beneficiary of a complex series of companies held offshore. But he has told the court that the beneficiaries of the Mara Group were his mother and sister.

The Sunday Times ‘Rich List’ had estimated Mr Thakkar’s wealth at £500 million in 2015.