Yoga guru to stars faces arrest over £4.6m sex case bill
THE founder of Bikram yoga is facing arrest for failing to pay more than $6 million (£4.6 million) to his former lawyer in a sexual harassment case.
Bikram Choudhury, 70, is famed for a technique that counts Madonna, Andy Murray and Gwyneth Paltrow among its followers.
But a California judge has issued an arrest warrant shortly after Mr Choudhury was ordered to hand over the proceeds from his global fitness empire.
He has been told to pay Minakshi “Micki” Jafa-bodden, his former lawyer, who claimed Mr Choudhury fired her when she refused to help him cover up a rape allegation.
Ms Jafa-bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Mr Choudhury’s Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, reportedly earning a six-figure salary.
She claimed in the lawsuit that Mr Choudhury sexually harassed and inappropriately touched her, and tried to get her to stay with him in a hotel suite.
In making his ruling this week, Edward Moreton, the LA county superior court judge set bail at $8million. No lawyers appeared for Mr Choudhury, who claimed last year he was nearly bankrupt.
Carla Minnard, the lawyer representing Ms Jafa-bodden, said her firm had tracked luxury vehicles and other possessions that Mr Choudhury moved out of state.
She said they have court orders in Nevada and Florida preventing him from moving stored items from warehouses.
Ms Jafa-bodden called it a “great day for women” when she was awarded the victory.
Mr Choudhury faces sexual assault lawsuits filed by six other women, five of whom accuse him of rape. Some are his former yoga students.
One of the lawsuits is in the process of being settled while the rest are set for trial later this year.
Mr Choudhury’s lawyers have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him, pointing out that prosecutors had declined to bring charges in the cases.
In an interview with CNN in 2015, Mr Choudhury denied the allegations. “Women love me,” he said. “So if I really wanted to involve the women, I don’t have to assault the women.”