The Russian billionaire at the centre of Britain’s biggest divorce case accused of failing to give his ex-wife ‘a penny’ has hit back, insisting he pays for her to ‘live like royalty’.
Farkhad Akhmedov, who made his money from oil and gas, says he has given Tatiana millions of pounds to pay for her luxurious lifestyle and numerous household staff.
A source close to the businessman told MailOnline: ‘Mr Akhmedov has given his ex-wife a country home worth £20 million in Weybridge.
‘He is providing millions of pounds a year to fund her jet-set lifestyle, enabling her to live like royalty with a full staff of housekeepers, gardeners and chauffeurs.’
Last December, Mr Akhmedov was ordered by the British courts to hand over a record-breaking £435 million of his estimated £900 million fortune.
The judge ruled that Mr Akhmedov had to provide for her ‘living needs’ – a claims he now describes as ‘manifestly unjust’.
At this week’s hearing at the High Court, lawyers for 41-year-old Tatiana Akhmedova said she had received ‘nothing’ from the settlement apart from a few minimal assets.
Farkhad Akhmedov, the Russian billionaire at the centre of Britain’s biggest divorce case accused of failing to give his ex-wife ‘a penny’, has hit back, insisting he pays for her to ‘live like royalty’ and has given her the family home in Weybridge (above)
The 61-year-old who made his money from oil and gas, insisted he had given Tatiana (above at court this week) millions of pounds to pay for her luxurious lifestyle and numerous household staff
A source close to the businessman (above) told MailOnline: ‘He is providing millions of pounds a year to fund her jet-set lifestyle, enabling her to live like royalty with a full staff of housekeepers, gardeners and chauffeurs’
Lawyers for 41-year-old Tatiana Akhmedova (above with barrister Baroness Shackleton) said she had received ‘nothing’ from the settlement apart from a few minimal assets
MailOnline understands that Mr Akhmedov has given his ex-wife the couple’s Weybridge country retreat, with a full staff.
According to the land registry, the sprawling property is listed in her name.
It is understood the court also ordered him to provide a second £40m London pied-a-terre, as well as £28m to buy a French Riviera palatial home.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Around half of what Mr Akhmedov believes was a ludicrous and grossly inflated award of £453m was based on the courts calculation of what celebrity divorce lawyer Baroness Shackleton and her team claimed were Mrs Akhmedov’s ‘living needs’.
‘The court also ruled that Mr Akhmedov should spend £40m on a second London home for Mrs Akhmedov and provide a further £28m for the purchase of a French Riviera property.
‘He was additionally ordered to provide Mrs Akhmedov with £5m a year to live on, for life.’
Last December, Mr Akhmedov – who made his money in oil and gas – was ordered by the British courts to hand over a record-breaking £435 million of his estimated £900 million fortune. Pictured: His superyacht
The judge ruled that Mr Akhmedov had to provide for his ex-wife’s ‘living needs’ – a claim he now describes as ‘manifestly unjust’. Pictured: The Russian’s private jet
MailOnline understands that Mr Akhmedov has given his ex-wife the couple’s Weybridge country retreat, in the elite enclave of St George’s Hill, with a full staff. According to the land registry, the sprawling property is listed in her name
It is understood the court also ordered him to provide a second £40m London pied-a-terre, as well as £28m to buy a French Riviera palatial home for Mrs Akhmedova (right)
Mr Akhmedov’s legal team is also said to be ‘furious’ that the divorce hearing was held in an English court when both parties are Russian citizens who married in 1993, moved to the UK and whose marriage ended in 2000.
The source continued: ‘They’re upset that the High Court made it clear from the outset that it wasn’t interested in Russian family law or the decisions of Russian judges.’
As Mr Akhmedov – who is friends with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich – refused to breach business confidentiality clauses during the hearing, his side claims that the case was based on ‘absurdly inflated figures simply plucked out of the air’ by his ex-wife’s lawyers.
The insider claims that ‘contrary to Russian oligarch stereotypes, Mr Akhmedvo’s incredible rags-to-riches story saw him arrive in Moscow from his native Azerbaijan aged 15 with 48 roubles in his pocket’.
He’s described as a ‘self-made man’, thought to be respected globally, with his advisers describing his fortune as ‘the cleanest Russian fortune they have ever encountered’. He’s said to give tens of millions to good causes.
This is despite Mr Akhmedov being included in the recent ‘Putin list’ released by the US Treasury, which names 210 prominent Russians with close Kremlin ties.
During their marriage the couple had enjoyed an incredibly lavish lifestyle, where the Surrey mansion was their family home while they jetted away to a £27.8m holiday home.
Mr Akhmedov’s legal team is said to be ‘furious’ that the divorce hearing was held in an English court when both parties are Russian citizens who married in 1993, moved to the UK and whose marriage ended in 2000. Pictured: A property in South of France owned by Mr Akhmedov
Mr Amkhmedov also owns a £90m art collection, a £42m private jet and a helicopter. In 2014 he bought a £300m super-yacht called Luna from Mr Abramovich with nine cabins and enough rooms for 18 guests which was built for the London football club boss.
The couple have two children together. They met when she was 17 and she fell pregnant aged 21. They then married in 1993 and moved to England.
This week’s appeal hearing was between Mrs Akhmedova and Mr Akhmedov’s former commercial lawyer Anthony Kerman.
Mr Kerman claims that he was called to give evidence at last year’s divorce hearing at very short notice and forced to disclose sensitive information without being able to consult his client.
On that basis, he is seeking to overturn last year’s judgement.
Mrs Akhmedova’s counsel, Hodge Malek QC, told London’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday: ‘The husband has not paid a penny. Despite being awarded in aggregate £453,576,152 before interest and costs (she) has to date received nothing from (him) save for some de minimis UK assets.’
Her lawyer Baroness Shackleton has been approached by MailOnline for a statement but she does not comment on client’s cases.