📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Alexandre Ultré
International
UK finds no record of Bhopal merchant’s 109-year-old ₹35,000 war bond claim
✍️ Livemint
🗓 20 Oct 2026, 12:37 AM
👁 13
The United Kingdom has stated that it holds no record of a 109‑year‑old British war bond allegedly bought by a Bhopal merchant for ₹35,000, a claim made by the merchant’s MP family.
London officials responded to a long‑standing claim that a merchant from Bhopal purchased a British war bond in 1915 for the equivalent of ₹35,000. The family of the merchant, which includes a Member of Parliament, has been seeking confirmation that the investment still exists. In a formal statement, the UK government said that after searching its archives there is no record of such a bond linked to the Bhopal merchant.
The MP’s family had argued that the bond, now over a century old, should still be traceable in official documents. The British authorities clarified that war bonds issued during the First World War were largely redeemed or cancelled after the war, and that any surviving records would be part of historical archives, none of which mention the Bhopal investor.
Livemint reported the development, noting that the UK’s denial leaves the family without documentary proof of the investment. The matter highlights the challenges of verifying financial instruments that date back more than a hundred years, especially when cross‑border records are involved.
No further comment was provided by the MP or the merchant’s descendants, and no legal action has been announced. The story remains a point of interest for those tracing historic overseas investments made by Indian entrepreneurs during the colonial era.
The MP’s family had argued that the bond, now over a century old, should still be traceable in official documents. The British authorities clarified that war bonds issued during the First World War were largely redeemed or cancelled after the war, and that any surviving records would be part of historical archives, none of which mention the Bhopal investor.
Livemint reported the development, noting that the UK’s denial leaves the family without documentary proof of the investment. The matter highlights the challenges of verifying financial instruments that date back more than a hundred years, especially when cross‑border records are involved.
No further comment was provided by the MP or the merchant’s descendants, and no legal action has been announced. The story remains a point of interest for those tracing historic overseas investments made by Indian entrepreneurs during the colonial era.