Oligarch a Step Closer to Losing $585 Million Divorce Battle

Farkhad Akhmedov, a Russian billionaire that made his fortune from natural gas, claims that the 2016 divorce decree from his wife Tatiana Akhmedova is invalid because he divorced her 16 years ago in Russia. The London court where Tatiana won her claim awarded her 41% of Farkhad’s fortune, totalling $585 million. The Moscow City Court has rejected an appeal by the businessman seeking to prove the existence of that divorce.

In the London case, Akhmedov’s lawyers produced “official” documents confirming the Russian divorce. The judge, however, suggested that the Moscow documents “were, at all material times, forged,” and an official finding that Akhmedov failed to submit “sufficient and credible evidence.”

To attempt to enforce the settlement, Tatiana tried to seize the billionaire’s 380-foot luxury yacht, the MV Luna, valued at $492 million. The nine-deck yacht, complete with two helipads, eight smaller boats, and a mini-submarine, is currently impounded in Dubai.

The 63-year-old has said he had supported his wife even after their marriage was dissolved in Russia, and cynical lawyers were to blame for filing for a second divorce in the British legal system. In a terse text message Akhmedov stated that, despite the rulings, the chance of his ex-wife collecting the full judgment was “zero.”

See Johnathon Browning & Irina Reznik, Oligarch a Step Closer to Losing $585 Million Divorce Battle, Bloomberg, October 19, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.