UK court orders superyacht seized in divorce ruling
BRITAIN: A London court has ordered the seizure of a luxury £492 million (NZ$955m) superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire, as judges seek to enforce one of the largest divorce payouts in UK history.
The court has ruled that Farkhad Akhmedov should transfer ownership of the 115m MV Luna, currently impounded in a dry dock in Dubai, to his wife, Tatiana Akhmedova. The judge granted the order to uphold his earlier £453.5m judgment.
Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said that Akhmedov tried to hide his ownership of the Luna behind a group of companies, and moved the ship to Dubai under the belief that it was ‘‘well beyond the reach of an English court judgment’’.
The nine-deck superyacht, which has 50 crew and two helipads, was originally built for Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich before Akhmedov purchased it in 2014. It also boasts a 20m outdoor swimming pool, eight smaller boats, and a mini-submarine.
Bankers and other financial professionals are often at the centre of some of the biggest UK divorces. London courts have gained a reputation as being a more sympathetic place to play out high-stakes cases, as judges generally order a 50-50 split of assets, giving equal weight to the work of a wealth creator and a homemaker.
In the final days of the Akhmedov proceedings, the billionaire changed his ownership of the Luna to another of his companies.
The transactions formed part of the billionaire’s ‘‘continuing campaign to defeat Akhmedova by concealing his assets in a web of offshore companies’’, HaddonCave wrote, declaring that the prior deals be set aside.
Akhmedov said he had supported his wife after their marriage was dissolved in Russia.
He blamed cynical lawyers for later filing for divorce in London, and British politics for the court’s decision.
Akhmedov said British judges were abusing the courts in Dubai, and linked the situation to bad relations between British government ministers and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘‘Can it really be a coincidence that this is all happening while the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s comments’’ made it plain that ‘‘the UK seeks to seize assets belonging to wealthy Russians?’’ Akhmedov said in an emailed statement.
The British order was made after the judge ruled in December 2016 that Akhmedov must pay 41 per cent of his assets to his wife.
The couple met in 1989, married four years later and moved to London, where Akhmedova has lived with their children ever since, according to the legal arguments presented and the 2016 ruling. The marriage ended in late 2014.
‘‘Any idea that the yacht can be sold or handed over to Mrs Akhmedova is fanciful,’’ Akhmedov said in a separate statement.
‘‘For that to happen – by the time all legal procedures were exhausted – would take years. By then, the yacht could have depreciated.’’
Akhmedov, who refused to take part in the UK trial and moved back to Russia, had allegedly moved his substantial modern art collection, valued at £90.5m (NZ$175.8m), to Lichtenstein, his wife said in court documents in January.
The judge said the courts needed to move quickly to enforce the order over the Luna. He said Akhmedov ‘‘has over the past 18 months repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to take rapid and multifarious steps to evade enforcement at every turn’’.