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Tetra Pak heir and wife to appear in court on crack charge
Rob Singh, Crime Reporter14 Jul 2008
The heir to the £5.4billion Tetra Pak empire and his wife have been charged with possessing crack cocaine.
Scotland Yard said today that Hans Kristian and Eva Rausing are to appear in court this month.
Mrs Rausing was arrested in April after small amounts of heroin and crack cocaine were allegedly found in a bag search at a reception at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square.
Drugs were later allegedly found at their Chelsea home and her husband - a former hippy and Britain's sixth richest man - was also arrested.
Mrs Rausing was also charged with possession of a Class C drug after the pair answered their bail yesterday.
The couple, who live in a £10million five-storey house in Cadogan Place, were bailed to appear at City of Westminster magistrates' court on 29 July.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Eva Louise Rausing was charged on Sunday with possession of Class A and Class C drugs and Hans Kristian Anders Rausing was charged with possession of Class A drugs."
In a statement after her arrest American-born Mrs Rausing, 44, said: "I am sorry for the upset I have caused.
"I thank my family and friends for the kindness and understanding they have shown me."
The couple, who have four children, own several properties around the world, including a £50 million estate in Barbados and a 3,000-acre retreat in East Sussex.
The Prince of Wales has described Mr Rausing, 45, as a "very special philanthropist" because of his support for anti-drugs charities.
The Rausings met in a rehabilitation clinic in the US and have donated millions of pounds a year to good causes.
In particular they are closely involved with The Mentor Foundation and Action On Addiction, which both work to keep young people off drugs.
Mentor operates in schools, universities and communities and claims to have helped more than a million children in 40 countries in the past 10 years.
Mrs Rausing and her husband regularly attend its functions, including a gala dinner at the Natural History Museum which they helped pay for. The couple also run their own charitable trust.
Tetra Pak was founded in Sweden in 1951 by Hans Kristian Rausing's grandfather, Ruben Rausing. Its first product was a paper carton used for storing and transporting milk.
The company was inherited by his sons, Hans and Gad, and became the biggest packing production company in the world.
Hans Rausing, 81, who is based in Britain, is one of the world's richest men with a fortune estimated at £5.4 billion.
He has three children, of whom Hans Kristian is the youngest.
