Oligarch at heart of £453m divorce row weds beauty queen half his age
A BILLIONAIRE at the centre of Britain’s biggest divorce has married a former beauty queen little more than half his age, it was revealed yesterday.
Russian oli garch Farkhad akhmedov, 65, married anna adamova, 37, while locked in a bitter legal battle with his ex-wife Tatiana akhmedova.
Pictures of the couple emerged as a High court fight over Mr akhmedov’s first marriage continued.
The images showed Miss adamova, a former Miss Russia contestant, posing in a white bikini and sitting on Mr akhmedov’s lap as they dined on a beach in the Maldives.
The pair have three children together – the eldest is now seven – and married five years ago. Details emerged as Mr akhmedov’s first wife Tatiana, 48, continued her legal battle to force him to hand over £453million, the biggest divorce settlement ever ordered by the British courts.
Last week the warring couple’s eldest son Temur akhmedov, 27, said the pair effectively led separate lives during their 20-year marriage and claimed each had other relationships. He said his mother had two affairs with younger men and had been aware of his father’s relationship with Miss adamova, adding: ‘It never seemed to bother her.’
Temur told the court his family had continued to take holidays together, but said his father would use a seaplane to visit Miss adamova during the vacations.
‘This was known to my mother, and she seemed as content not to spend time with him as he was not to spend time with her,’ he said.
Mrs akhmedova’s attitude changed abruptly when she l earned her husband had a child with Miss adamova, Temur added.
In a written statement, he told the court: ‘I heard her refer to anna as a “whore” who wanted to “take everything away from us” after that.
‘However, she did not seem to make any changes i n her l i fe, or her relationship with my father, which had been for a long time by then very limited.’
Mr akhmedov married Tatiana in Russia in 1993 and moved to Britain, although the oil and gas tycoon continued to work in Siberia and Moscow. He has i nsisted they divorced in Russia in 2000, after he learned of her first affair, and that his relationship with Miss adamova, who represented Moscow in the Miss Russia contest when she was 21, began only after the divorce.
In her competition profile, Miss adamova said she enjoyed skydiving and flying aircraft, doing crossword puzzles and reading. She said she valued ‘loyalty and kindness’.
Mrs akhmedova filed for divorce in 2013 and told the High court that her husband had faked documents showing they were divorced in 2000.
She was awarded a record divorce settlement of £453million in 2016 but claims her ex-husband has hidden his vast fortune in offshore trusts to avoid paying her.
She has begun legal action against Temur, alleging he conspired with his father to hide the money from her. Temur admitted he had known his father planned to move money and l uxury assets, i ncluding a £ 350million superyacht and a
‘Mother called Anna a whore’ ‘Knew father was hiding his assets’
£110million modern art collection. But he denied he helped to orchestrate the scheme.
He said he had a good relationship with his father’s new wife and their three children, and said his father was ‘devoted’ to all his children.
Mr akhmedov has insisted that the English courts should not be involved in his divorce, because he and Mrs akhmedova married in Russia and were Russian citizens.
The case continues.