File photo of Avantha Group founder Gautam Thapar.
The wife of an Indian-origin billionaire has been made accused in London for "keying" a neighbour's 1,20,000 pound Bentley over an alleged parking rage incident.
German-born Stephanie, the second wife of the Avantha Group founder Gautam Thapar, has been charged with causing 4,153 pound worth of criminal damage to the two-door black Coupe belonging to Michael Connor on January 22.
The 50-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge of scratching the car with a key, denying she touched the vehicle.
Connor claims he looked out of his window at 7 pm on January 22 after hearing Stephanie sound her horn as she tried to negotiate past his parked Bentley to enter her own garage.
When he later inspected his vehicle, Connor allegedly found "deep scratches in the paintwork" and called police.
The incident allegedly took place behind the 21-million pound home of the Thapar family in the posh Knightsbridge area of central London.
Accompanied by her husband in court this week, Stephanie was bailed to return to Hammersmith Magistrates' Court for trial on July 29 on condition that she does not contact Connor.
An earlier trial date had to be changed as the couple are scheduled to visit India between June 20 and July 8 for business trip.
In 2008, Thapar won Earnst & Young's 'Entrepreneur of the Year Award' for manufacturing and in 2013 King's College conferred an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his "exceptional achievements in the fields of industry and philanthropy".
The 54-year-old's net worth is estimated at around 1 billion pounds.