Sale of billionaire's home uncovers dirty secrets

London

ON London's Billionaires Row in Hampstead, the seven-bedroom Carlton House with its 50-foot ballroom, underground swimming pool and 10-person Turkish bath is for sale for £14 million (S$29 million).

It's being sold to repay BTA Bank after British courts seized assets from the Kazakh lender's one-time chairman, billionaire Mukhtar Ablyazov. The lender accused him of embezzling about US$6 billion from the bank, claims he says are false and politically motivated.

It took the UK High Court to establish that the home, with its marble bathrooms, crystal chandeliers and cherry-wood elev…