Who is Vikas Nath, Indian-origin businessman accused of spiking a woman’s drink in UK

An Indian-origin restaurateur, who owns two Michelin-starred establishments, is accused of spiking a woman’s drink at a nightclub in 2024. Vikas Nath, 63, from Kensington, has admitted to spiking a woman’s drink at an affluent Mayfair club, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. The Indian-origin owner put gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) in a woman’s margarita drink two years ago.The incident took place on January 15, 2024, when he and the woman were sitting on the rooftop garden bar at Mayfair’s private members’ club Annabel’s. He admitted to spiking the drink but clarified that it was to help the woman ‘relax’ rather than to have sex with her.

GBL is a colourless industrial solvent that, when consumed, the body quickly converts into gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). This conversion can induce a variety of symptoms, including tiredness, memory loss, unconsciousness, and, in severe cases, hazardous respiratory depression.
Vikas Nath is the director of the Michelin-starred Benares restaurant in Mayfair, as per HT.
According to a report in the BBC, he has a portfolio of restaurants in the UK and Spain.On January 15, 2024, employees at Annabel’s in Mayfair observed Nath using a straw to transfer a liquid from a vanilla extract bottle into the woman’s margarita, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The jury heard that staff replaced the drink before the woman drank it and then called the police, the BBC report added.

As per the report, he hid the vanilla extract bottle in a toilet cistern when the cops were on their way. When the officers arrived at the central London location, they discovered the bottle, which contained traces of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). Later, two bottles of the drug were recovered under his sink at home.

According to prosecutor Tim Clark, Nath exchanged texts with a friend before the incident that showed he wanted to have sex with the woman. “His acceptance is not surprising; he had little choice because the spiking was captured on CCTV at Annabel’s,” Clark was quoted as saying by BBC.

In a police interview, Nath stated that he obtained the GBL as a cleaning fluid for a high-performance car and was informed by a friend that it could also be consumed with wine as a ‘relaxant’. According to him, he was unaware that possessing GBL was unlawful.