Flamboyant businessman Ness Wadia, the son of industrialist Nusli Wadia, has been sentenced to a two-year jail term in Japan for possession of drugs. According to reports, Wadia, who was on a skiing holiday in Japan, was caught at the New Chitose Airport in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido with cannabis in March this year.
After spending an undisclosed period of detention, Wadia was awarded two-year imprisonment by the Sapporo district court. The sentence was also suspended for five years. As per the reports, Wadia even admitted to the possession of the drugs for personal consumption.
"Mr Wadia spent a period in detention before his indictment on March 20 and an undisclosed period of detention before a court hearing. The Sapporo district court handed him a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for five years," According to report published in the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, the Wadia Group has issued a statement stating the sentence won't impact Ness Wadia in the discharge of any of his responsibilities.
"The judgment is clear. It's a suspended sentence. Hence it won't impact Ness Wadia in the discharge of any of his responsibilities," the statement reads.
Ness Wadia is the Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, a company which has holdings in most of the Wadia Group subsidiaries, including an indirect majority stake in Britannia Industries. Wadia is also a co-owner of IPL frenchise Kings XI Punjab. He is the great grand son of Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his parsi wife Rattanbai Petit.