World's most expensive divorce costs £2.7bn

20 May 2014 08:35 am - 6 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev has been ordered to pay about £2.7bn to his ex-wife in what could become the biggest divorce settlement in history.

In papers delivered on Monday to both parties, a court in Switzerland said Mr Rybolovlev, 47, one of the owners of French soccer club AS Monaco, must pay more than 4bn Swiss francs to Elena Rybolovleva, also 47.

The judgment also granted his ex-wife property in the ski resort of Gstaad worth 130.5m francs (£86m) and two other buildings in the wealthy Cologny area of Geneva, where the couple once lived together. It confirmed her custody of their 13-year-old daughter, Anna. The couple also has an adult daughter, Ekaterina.

Ms Rybolovleva’s lawyer Marc Bonnant called it “the most expensive divorce in history”, an unheard-of amount for Switzerland.

But Mr Rybolovlev's lawyer, Tetiana Bersheda, said that the judgment's cash order was likely to be whittled down during the appeal process. “There will definitely be a new appellate review and therefore this judgment is not final given the existence of two levels of appeal in Switzerland,” she said.

A statement by Mr Bonnant and two other lawyers in the case said the record judgment was “a complete victory” for their client and that under Swiss law she was entitled to half the fortune he made during their marriage. Most of that fortune was transferred to Cyprus-based trusts in 2005.

The three lawyers said Monday's ruling demonstrated that “no one — not even a Russian tycoon who put his fabulous fortune into legal structures such as trusts and offshore companies — is above the law”.

But Mr Rybolovlev's lawyer suggested the opposite, praising the judgment for “confirming both the validity of the trusts created by Mr Rybolovlev and the validity of the asset transfer to them that occurred long before his wife initiated divorce proceedings”.

His ex-wife had demanded about £3.5bn from the man known as the “fertilizer king”, whose fortune from potash mining once made him the world's 79th richest person. He is now ranked 147th on the Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated fortune of £5.2bn.

The couple met as university students in Perm, Russia, and married there in 1987. Divorce proceedings began in 2008.

Mr Rybolovlev and his daughter Ekaterina used money from the trusts to buy some of the most expensive properties in the US, including a penthouse apartment at Central Park West in New York and a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.(Independent.co.uk)

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Comments - 6

True Lover Tuesday, 20 May 2014 08:48 AM

I Love her so much, and need to marry her soon, if I get this big money as the dowry ! ;)

ANTON Tuesday, 20 May 2014 09:03 AM

HOLY SHIT, GOD SAVE RUSSIAN HUSBANDS.

Frank Tuesday, 20 May 2014 03:10 PM

he needs to fire his lawyer before anything via DM Android App

Prasannajit Tuesday, 20 May 2014 09:44 AM

Divorce case of Sanath Jayasuriya ? Any match?

Perakadhoru Tuesday, 20 May 2014 05:51 PM

In SL the wives are prevented from appearing in courts and even if they do to keep their mouths shut through intimidation and threat of harm to the children. The Sporty one thrashed his wife and no action against him. There are several others who are leading a double life having silenced their former better halves. They will declare only their MPs salary as the sole income and if ordered to pay only a portion of it to the aggrieved party. This is hardly enough to feed their pure bred canines for a week. via DM iPad app

azi Wednesday, 21 May 2014 12:58 AM

Frank ur 100% correct via DM Android App

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World's most expensive divorce costs £2.7bn

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