This story starts in 1948 when the last Nizam (king) of Hyderabad deposited £1 million into a UK account, held by the then Pakistan high commissioner.

In 1947, what was then British India was partitioned. Hyderabad was annexed by India in 1948 in a military operation, and the money transfer was made shortly before this happened.

At that stage, the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan (above), couldn’t decide whether his state should be in Pakistan or India. When he asked for the return of the money a couple of weeks after the annexure, Pakistan refused to give it back.

And so a legal battle began that concluded this week. In the meantime, reports BBC, that £1 million sat in a bank account at National Westminster Bank, gaining interest.

National Westminster Bank […] refused to release the funds to either party until the case was resolved by the courts.

The interest on the original deposit saw the money grow to £35m [around R650 million] by 2019.

Pakistan argued it had been given the money in order to procure arms but the court determined it had the right to rule in the case, given that the money had been deposited in a British bank account.

The court ruled that Pakistan had only acted as a trustee when the funds were deposited and therefore had no legal claim to the money. It, therefore, belonged to the Nizam, who has since passed on.

“We welcome the judgment of Justice Marcus Smith,” Najaf Ali Khan, one of the Nizam’s grandsons, told BBC Telugu.

“The High Court has rightly rejected Pakistan’s claim. The family has long awaited this judgement.”

India’s foreign ministry also welcomed the verdict in a press statement.

Pakistan is free to appeal the judgement. If they don’t then, the money will go to the Nizam’s grandsons and the state of India.

Yeah, and all I get is emails from Nigerian princes about long-lost fortunes.

[source:bbc]