Indian CEO spends ₹35 Cr on girlfriend! Sues her to recover money after breakup, but loses

Singapore: A prominent Indian businessman has lost a legal battle in Singapore to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars he spent on his former girlfriend during their relationship, after the High Court ruled that the money was given as gifts and not loans.

Chander Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO of logistics company TCI Express Ltd, had sued his former girlfriend Felicia Lee, seeking to recover around S$370,000 (approximately Rs 2.3 crore) that he claimed he had paid for her expenses. Agarwal maintained that the money was provided as interest-free loans and was supposed to be repaid.

The court rejected his claim, finding no convincing evidence that the payments were loans. The couple first met on a flight in 2019 and began dating in September 2022. They separated in December 2023 after Agarwal became suspicious that Lee had deceived him.

During their relationship, Agarwal paid for luxury goods from brands including Hermes, Dior and Prada, first-class air tickets, overseas trips, life insurance premiums, personal credit-card expenses and an executive programme at Stanford-NUS. He also spent S$17,000 on a feng shui master for Lee's apartment.

Agarwal relied on a handwritten agreement that he claimed showed Lee had agreed to repay the money. Lee denied signing the document. The court also found that their WhatsApp exchanges contained no convincing indication that the payments were intended as loans.

Senior Judge Lee Seiu Kin concluded that Agarwal had willingly borne Lee's expenses while the relationship was happy and later pursued the claim out of resentment following their breakup.

The court dismissed Agarwal's lawsuit and ordered him to pay Lee's legal costs.