Keith Vaz’s wife revealed as owner of luxury beach house, bringing family’s property portfolio to a whopping £4.4m
SHAMED MP Keith Vaz's wife has been revealed as the owner of a luxury villa in Goa - bringing the couple's estimated total property value to a whopping £4.4million.
The plush mansion is the eighth property owned by the couple, raising further questions about their personal finances.
Vaz and his wife Maria Fernandes own a £2.1million family home in London - as well as flats in the city and properties in Leicester.
One of the London flats has been at the centre of a scandal after Vaz paid and met two Eastern European male prostitutes there for sex.
Vaz is the sole owner of two flats in London and two houses in London.
One of the Central London properties was bought for £545,000 in 2004 and is now rented out.
Fernandes is an immigration lawyer and Vaz had a salary of £90,000-a-year until recently - sparking questions about their luxury portfolio of homes.
MP Andrew Bridgen said: "It is clear Keith Vaz's financial affairs are an enigma wrapped in mystery.
"This raises many questions but we are getting very few answers from Mr Vaz."
An investigation by the paper found Fernandes invested in the Goa property nine years ago.
The gated complex, which comes complete with a stunning swimming pool, is situated in the Sunset Meadows development at Betalbatim.
Fernandes owns a three-storey villa that lies 500m from the beach.
A neighbour claims Vaz entertains politicians and celebrities, including Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, at the colourful house.
He told the Mirror: "He is a very nice person and down to earth."
At the entrance to the plush home, a pillar is decorated with four handprints - belonging to Vaz, his wife and two others.
Beside them reads: "Keith & Maria, Luke & Anjali, placed their hands on this building on 1st January 2009."
Police found the former minister had “seven or eight mortgages” over the same period but was able to make mortgage payments totalling more than his salary as an MP.
A Scotland Yard document said that a report made to the National Criminal Intelligence Service had stated: “News reports have linked Vaz to the Hinduja brothers’ passport application affair and imply that he may have received payments.”
Mr Vaz insisted that his funds were the proceeds of property deals. He pointed out at the time that the information in police documentation was incorrect and that he knew of no investigation into him.
No further action was taken.
During the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009 it emerged that Mr Vaz had claimed £75,000 for a Westminster flat only 12 miles from his family home and had subsequently “flipped” his designated second home to one of his Leicester properties.
He also faced questions over his finances in 2001 when it emerged that he owned five properties and had been negotiating to buy a sixth, a £900,000 townhouse in London, before pulling out of that deal.
The flat in a development in Edgware, north London, in which Mr Vaz allegedly entertained male escorts last month is the newest addition to his property portfolio.
It was bought without a mortgage for £387,500 in June and is registered in the Labour MP's name.
Mark Stephens, the MP’s lawyer, said Mr Vaz bought his first property in Leicester before he was an MP, for £24,000 in 1985. The second was inherited from his mother when she died from cancer in 2003.
The new flat in Edgware was bought by Mr Vaz with a loan from an institutional lender which will be repaid with proceeds from the sale of one of his Leicester houses.
The family are moving out of their home in Stanmore because it needs extensive renovation, including a new roof and rewiring.
“His wife is a successful lawyer. You will find everything was declared properly in the register of members’ interests.
"He is punctilious about that,” the lawyer said.
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