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Chander Agarwal, CEO and managing director of TCI Express/Image: TCI Express
An Indian-origin CEO has lost a case seeking nearly $370,000 from his ex-girlfriend over luxury items, first-class flights and other expenses he paid for during their relationship, which he claimed were loans, CNN reported.Chander Agarwal, CEO and managing director of logistics company TCI Express Limited, had claimed Felicia Lee owed him SGD $468,090 following their breakup.The court heard Agarwal had spent heavily on Lee during their relationship, including buying her Hermes, Dior and Prada items and paying tens of thousands of dollars for first-class flights.He also claimed to have covered her life insurance premiums, university programme and personal expenses using his American Express card.
Among the other payments was money spent on a feng shui master who was hired to “spiritually harmonise” Lee’s flat.Agarwal argued that some of these payments should be treated as loans. He also relied on a handwritten agreement bearing what he said were both their signatures, but Lee denied signing the document.Senior Judge Lee Seiu Kin of the Singapore High Court dismissed the claim on Thursday, finding that Agarwal had failed to establish that Lee had asked to borrow the money or agreed to repay it.
The judge said Agarwal had been “smitten” with Lee and had willingly given her expensive gifts during their relationship. He noted that she had sometimes been reluctant to accept them.The couple met on a flight in 2019 and began a romantic relationship in 2022. They separated towards the end of 2023 after Agarwal suspected Lee of being unfaithful.Judge Lee said Agarwal’s attitude changed after the relationship ended, describing him as having “became embittered and was determined to extract a price from her”.The court ultimately ruled that the disputed payments were gifts rather than loans, leaving Lee with no obligation to repay the money.The judge also questioned why Agarwal had been unable to produce written evidence supporting his claim despite the couple exchanging numerous WhatsApp messages during their relationship.“It is incredible that for a relationship that lasted for more than a year with so many WhatsApp messages exchanged between them, the Claimant could not point to any written evidence to support his case,” the judge said.
