A wealthy businessman will be forced to pay his wife an extra $10million in a divorce settlement after she discovered his secret account.
The Sydney couple had been locked in the legal battle as his wife staked a claim for $174million out of the couple’s combined wealth of $565million.
The ruling found the couple were only in a relationship for a relatively short period of time under 10 years, had no children and the husband brought in most of the wealth.
The court heard the wife sold an apartment for $260,000 before the relationship developed and that money was used as a deposit on another property.
Justice Richard Schonell slammed both parties in his published ruling saying they been at times untruthful’.
The husband, who cannot be legally named, had claimed his assets were worth only $50million, but employing an old nickname proved his undoing when his ex wife found it had been used for multiple online accounts.
Although business accounts were under the name of the husband’s brother the court ruled he was a ‘straw man’ and not the real controller of the money.
The business was found to have assets worth $480million.
A wealthy businessman will be forced to pay his wife an extra $10million in a divorce settlement after she discovered his secret account
Because the husband has business and property assets spread around the globe the wife has been pursuing him with actions in overseas courts.
The property portfolio is valued at tens of millions of dollars, including blue chip Sydney properties and a $20million trophy home overseas.
As well as the separating couple, the husband’s brother also gave evidence during the trial with Justice Schonell unimpressed by all of them.
‘They each have a clear motivation to give self-serving evidence and the findings and admissions reveal they have been at times untruthful,’ he wrote in the judgement.
Justice Schonell found the wife’s evidence was ‘implausible and at times fanciful’ and that ‘the husband has sought to obscure the true extent of his wealth’.
The judge awarded the wife an extra $10million – bringing her total share to almost $20million.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk