Russian oligarch's ex-wife who was awarded £453m in Britain's biggest divorce claims he is 'hiding his assets including a £350m superyacht bought off friend Roman Abramovich to avoid paying her'
- Tatiana Akhmedova claims Russian oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov is hiding assets
- Her lawyers say he is using complex financial systems to keep money to himself
- His £1billion fortune includes a £350 superyacht he bought from Chelsea owner
- She is at the High Court to force him to payout £450million divorce settlement
The ex-wife of a Russian oligarch at the centre of a £453million divorce battle claims he is hiding assets to avoid paying her.
Lawyers for Tatiana Akhmedova say her ex husband is using a series of complex financial systems to keep the money to himself.
They told the High Court in London that gas and oil tycoon Farkhad Akhmedov, 62, has so far not handed over any of the money he was ordered to pay.
He is also accused of attempting to keep a £350million super yacht, bought from his close friend and Chelsea football club owner Roman Adramovich, out of his wife's reach when their marriage ended.
Tatiana Akhmedova with her legal team as she leaves the High Court in central London today
Mrs Akhmedova. who carried a red handbag and wore a floor length black coat, says her ex husband is using a series of complex financial systems to keep the money to himself.
Mr Akhmedov was ordered to give his ex, who he married more than 20 years ago, £453million at a hearing in 2016.
It is believed to be Britain's biggest ever divorce payout.
Mr Akhmedov appears on a US list as one of a number of senior politicians and oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who could face sanctions, to punish Russia for interfering in the US election.
Dakis Hagen QC, representing Mrs Akhmedova, today told the High Court, sitting at the Old Bailey, that she is seeking further orders to prevent Mr Akhmedov concealing his assets to avoid a payout.
He said: 'The context of this application is the husband's further use of ciphers, nominee companies and alter-ego off-shore entities to hide his assets and frustrate Your Lordship's orders from December 2016.'
Mrs Akhmedova (left) who became the legal owner of the £350million superyacht today, and her former husband Farkhad Akhmedov (right)
The court heard how Mr Akhmedov bought the luxury motor yacht, which boasts nine cabins with enough room for 18 guests in February 2014.
But Mr Hagen said he 'engineered the transfer of the boat' to a better protected company in Panama when he realised the marriage was over, so she would be unable to acquire it.
Mrs Akhmedova has now become the 'legal and beneficial owner' of the boat, after Mr Justice Haddon-Cave agreed in principle to her application to own the vessel.
Failing the transfer of the boat, she is to be awarded £356million, which is the yacht's value.
The Luna, which boasts the largest swimming pool on any of the world's super yachts, was seized after docking in Dubai last month.
Judges previously described Mr Akhmedov as having demonstrated a 'naked determination' to keep his immense fortune out of the clutches of his former wife.
He was hit with a worldwide asset freezing order two years ago by the judge who slammed his 'cavalier attitude' to the English courts.
The oligarch has so far refused to accept the divorce court ruling because he insists that the British courts have no jurisdiction over a marriage between Russians.
In a statement last month he said: 'The British courts should never have sought to interfere in a former marriage which took place in Russia, between two Russian citizens and which had long been dissolved in that country with generous provision for my ex-wife.
The gas and oil trader's fortune is estimated to be worth nearly £1billion including this superyacht bought from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
Mr Akhmedova says he pays his former wife to 'live like royalty' and has given her the family home in Weybridge (above)
'In seeking a new settlement of that marriage both my ex-wife, for whose lavish lifestyle I have always provided, used the British courts in an opportunistic bid for financial gain.
'It is wrong that the British legal system gave her and her lawyers the opportunity to do so.
'I shall continue to defend all my rights in other jurisdictions, as will those responsible for the trust holding my family's wealth. I believe other courts will act in a more reasonable and less partial manner than the British courts have done.'
Mr Akhmedov married his ex-wife more than 20 years ago. They moved to London in 1993 and Ms Akhmedova, 41, raised their two sons. Their marriage broke down in 2014.
In their divorce she argued she was due almost half of her former husband's £1billion fortune because of her 'equal contributions to the welfare of the family' during their marriage.
She was handed the contents of the couple's former home, valued at almost £2.5million, as well as Akhmedov's £350,000 Aston Martin and his £90million modern art collection.
The tycoon's vast fortune includes a sprawling estate in St Jean Cap Ferat, France
Her ex-husband and a Panamanian company holding most of his assets were also ordered to stump up a £350million lump sum.
During their marriage, the couple enjoyed a glitteringly lavish lifestyle, with a £39m mansion in Surrey, as well as a £27.8m holiday home.
He has a rags-to-riches story which saw him arrive in Moscow from his native Azerbaijan aged 15 'with 48 roubles in his pocket'.
The billionaire - who started out selling sable furs - made his fortune when he sold shares in Russian company, ZAO Northgas, in 2012 for almost £1billion.
Earlier this year the Trump Administration published a list of senior politicians and oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin as part of a sanctions law designed to punish Russia for interfering in the US election.
The list includes 114 senior figures in President Putin's government and 96 oligarchs worth over $1 billion each.
But President Putin has blasted the US for releasing the list, calling it a 'hostile step' that will further damage US-Russian ties.
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