The 95-metre superyacht Indian Empress, which was impounded in Malta this spring due to debts on the crew's wages, was sold at auction. The transaction amounted to €43.5 million, which is almost three times less than the price the previous owner gave for her.
Indian Empress was owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya in 2006. Over the past few years, Mallya owed a tidy sum for boat maintenance services, which included $1 million in back wages to the crew, $758,000 for repairs to the boat's engines and $83,300 to yacht agencies.
The vessel was arrested by the Maltese authorities in March this year and three months later the court gave permission to creditors to sell the yacht at an auction. The sale took place last week. The starting price was €25m but she was sold for €43.5m.
Indian Empress was built at Oceanco shipyard in 2000 for the royal family of Qatar. The yacht has 16 guest cabins including a master suite with an entire deck. The boat underwent two full-scale refits in 2008 and 2016, the last of which cost €6.4 million. Owned by an Indian businessman, the superyacht has been actively chartered, with a week's rental at €750,000.
Vijay Mallya is the head of the United Breweries Group and co-owner of the Formula 1 team Sahara Force India. He currently resides in the UK, and at home he is accused of a number of financial crimes, including money laundering and bank fraud.
In the late 1960s, the boat was owned by the famous couple: Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The Indian tycoon bought the boat in 1995, restored it and it is still in operation.
