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A British former child chess prodigy who joked 'I am Taliban' and said he'd put a bomb on a packed easyJet plane has been warned he faces paying a six-figure sum in fines and compensation at his trial.

Gifted student Aditya Verma has been summoned to court in Madrid on Monday to stand trial after being charged with a public order offence following his graduation holiday 'joke.'

Two Spanish military fighter jets were scrambled after Verma, a former star pupil at St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington in Kent, claimed: 'I am a Taliban' and bragged he was going to blow up the plane he travelled on from the UK to Menorca.

Spanish officials are yet to release the indictment that will form the basis of the prosecutors' case against the super-bright youngster, who turned 20 earlier this month.

They have confirmed they are not seeking a prison sentence.

Gifted student Aditya Verma has been summoned to court in Madrid on Monday to stand trial after being charged with a public order offence following his graduation holiday 'joke'

Verma appeared in court for the first time yesterday, July 5, 2022 in a behind-closed-doors hearing

But well-placed sources told MailOnline that Verma, now studying economics at Bath University, is facing a 82,000 compensation bill if convicted.

State prosecutors also want him fined nearly 19,500 if he is found guilty of wrongdoing.

The investigation sparked by his July 3, 2022 arrest has been rumbling on behind closed doors but will now go to trial after he was charged following a lengthy criminal probe by an investigating judge.

Indian-born Verma's one-day trial will take place at Spain's Audiencia Nacional court, which has jurisdiction over major crimes such as terrorism, currency forgery and drug trafficking and also decides on extradition requests.

He has not yet been asked to register a plea but is expected to protest his innocence on the day.

The compensation bill being demanded of him should he be convicted is the Spanish state's calculation of the cost of scrambling two F18 fighter jets from a military base in the northern city of Zaragoza to escort the holiday plane as it neared Menorca during the bomb scare.

Aditya, who has represented England at several international chess tournaments and once met legendary player Gary Kasparov, will be represented by a female lawyer normally based in the Menorcan capital Mahon.

The 'brilliant' student was held after allegedly telling friends he was going on holiday to Menorca with on Snapchat: 'I'm going to blow this plane up. I'm a Taliban.'

Local reports at the time said his message, sent while he was about to take off from Gatwick airport, was picked up by their mobiles on its Wi-Fi servers and immediately triggered alarm bells with security because of the sensitive words used.

Spanish F-18 jet fighter, seen through plane window, escorts an Easyjet flight heading from London to the Spanish holiday island of Menorca, after a hoax bomb threat by Verma on July 3, 2022

Verma being taken to the court in the Menorcan capital Mahon by two armed police officers onJuly 5, 2022

Aditya Verma. The investigation sparked by his July 3, 2022 arrest has been rumbling on behind closed doors but will now go to trial after he was charged following a lengthy criminal probe by an investigating judge

Armed cops hauled him off the easyJet plane in handcuffs when it landed on the island and he spent two nights in police custody before going in front of a judge in Mahon.

He was released on 8,600 bail and told he was free to leave Spain but would continue to be investigated by the Audiencia Nacional.

Verma exclusively told Mail Online when he was back home in Orpington with his parents Anand and Dipti Prasad: 'It was a moment of madness which I regret and I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke and I didn't mean anything by it.

'I'm sorry for ruining my friends' holiday but it was all just a joke and I didn't mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were frightened by what happened.

'I sent the Snapchat message to my friends as we were boarding. It was a joke as we had been saying who was going to be stopped and searched by the security.

'The message said: "I'm going to blow this plane up. I'm a Taliban," and now I just wish I hadn't sent it.

'It was a stupid thing to do but I thought as it was a private Snapchat just my friends would see it.'

Before being allowed home after touching down in the UK, he was taken aside and questioned for two hours by police and officials from MI6 and MI5 about things like his views on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Verma, who at the time of the incident was being predicted to get double A star and an A in his Economics, History and Maths A levels, told Mail Online after his release from custody he had offers from 'two good universities' but denied reports one was Cambridge.

Child chess prodigy Aditya Verma. Hisone-day trial will take place at Spain's Audiencia Nacional court, which has jurisdiction over major crimes such as terrorism, currency forgery and drug trafficking and also decides on extradition requests

The easyJet plane landed around half an hour late on July 3, 2022

Passengers were reportedly kept on the tarmac for four hours while the plane was checked out

He said at the time: 'My old school say they will back me and reassure both places that I am not a terrorist and a sensible person. I won't be doing anything silly again. I've learned my lesson.'

It was not immediately clear today what his A-level grades had been.

Verma, whose mum said in the aftermath of the incident she thought it was 'unlikely' the Spanish authorities would ask her son to pay back the cost of scrambling the fighter planes, has recently outlined plans to work in the finance sector.

He said of himself in a recent write-up on LinkedIn: 'Economics student at the University of Bath with interests in macroeconomics, financial modelling, history, and the equity market. I aspire to work in the finance sector whilst also broadening my understanding of economics.'

His fate at his trial on Monday will be decided by a single professional judge and not a jury.

Provided there is no last-minute deal and the public hearing goes ahead, the judge is expected to reserve his judgement until a later date and announce it in a written ruling as is normal in Spain.

More here:
Chess prodigy who said he'd put bomb on flight faces 100000 bill - Daily Mail