Billionaire crook weeps at hearing to seize his assets

A billionaire criminal sobbed in court as he tried to stop prosecutors seizing his fortune from his family.

Virendra Rastogi, 41, masterminded a global fraud which saw banks duped into pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into fake firms with registered offices that turned out to include a cow shed in India and a US launderette.

Rastogi, who is serving nine years, was back in Southwark crown court for a hearing to decide how much of the £1.06billion he made can be recovered. Weeping as he insisted he wanted his family kept separate from his criminal income, he said the last thing he wanted was "to let my wife and kids suffer".

His disputed assets include a £6 million house in Portman Square, Mayfair.

The hearing continues.