Russian billionaire to lose £350m superyacht in divorce payout
A £350 million superyacht commissioned by Roman Abramovich has been handed to the ex-wife of a Putinlinked billionaire as part of Britain’s biggest divorce case.
The High Court ruled that Luna, a 377ft yacht which oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov bought from Mr Abramovich, the Chelsea FC owner, should be handed to Tatyana Akhmedova as part of a £453million settlement.
Mr Akhmedov, 61, a Russian billionaire who made his money in the gas industry, had been attempting to “evade enforcement” of an earlier court decision to give 41 per cent of his fortune to his ex-wife, Mr Justice Haddoncave said.
He ruled that the yacht, which has 10 VIP guest cabins, a 60ft outdoor pool, nine decks and a mini-submarine, should be given to Ms Akhmedova as part of the divorce payout.
Luna is the 23rd-largest luxury yacht in the world and also has two helipads, a spa and a gym.
The yacht has been in dry dock in Dubai since October. “This may have been because [Mr Akhmedov] assumed that Dubai was well beyond the reach of an English Court judgment,” the judge added. The oligarch had conducted an “elaborate and contumacious campaign to evade and frustrate the enforcement of the judgment debt against him”.
The yacht has been transferred to the ownership of a company, in an “attempt by [Mr Akhmedov] to evade enforcement,” he added. She is currently “effectively impounded” in Port Rashid after the company’s assets were frozen.