Woman awarded £20m payout 11 years ago following a bitter divorce court battle with cheating multi-millionaire ex-husband ‘is yet to receive a penny’
- Fereshteh Behbehani filed for divorce in 2003 from her now-ex Falah Behbehani
- She had discovered the businessman was having a relationship with her niece
- High Court ordered Mr Behbehani to make £20 million payment by end of 2018
- Court of Appeal judges have been told Mr Behbehani has so-far paid nothing
A woman who was awarded a £20 million payout 11 years ago following a divorce battle with her ex-husband has yet to receive a penny, judges say.
Fereshteh Behbehani had filed for divorce in 2003 after discovering businessman Falah Behbehani was having a relationship with her niece.
They divorced in 2004 and in late 2008, a judge based in the Family Division of the High Court in London ordered Mr Behbehani to make a £20 million lump sum payment to Mrs Behbehani.
Mrs Justice Parker said Mr Behbehani should pay the £20 million by the end of 2018.
In late 2008, a judge based in the Family Division of the High Court in London ordered Falah Behbehani to make a £20 million lump sum payment to Fereshteh Behbehani (stock image)
But Court of Appeal judges have now been told the businessman, who is worth more than £40 million, has paid nothing.
Detail of Mr Behbehani’s ‘failure to comply with his obligations’ has been outlined in a ruling by Court of Appeal judges.
The divorced couple have been embroiled in litigation relating to a Spanish company Mr Behbehani is involved in.
Barrister James Pickering, who leads Mrs Behbehani’s legal team, said in July she was living in ‘extreme financial difficulty’.
Three appeal judges on Friday made decisions in relation to that litigation and explained how Mrs Behbehani has been paid nothing.
Lord Justice Longmore, Lord Justice Moylan and Lord Justice Baker had analysed the latest stage of the litigation relating to the Spanish company at a Court of Appeal hearing in London earlier this year.
Lord Justice Baker, in the appeal court ruling, said: ‘Eleven years later, despite repeated efforts by Mrs Behbehani and her representatives to enforce the order, not a penny… has been paid.
‘To date, the husband has paid nothing due under the order.’
The couple married in 1985 and had two children. They had a home in the affluent St John’s Wood in north-west London.
Mr Behbehani had ‘substantial’ business interests in Spain, appeal judges said.
‘Mrs Behbehani discovered that her husband was having a relationship with her niece,’ added Lord Justice Baker.
‘[She] filed divorce proceedings which were unopposed.’