The widow of a deceased oligarch is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with his “secret daughter” over the late businessman’s $1 billion estate. Before passing away Kakha Bendukidze had made his fortune as a businessman in post-Soviet Russia. When he returned to his native Georgia he became a popular government minister and philanthropist. His widow Natalia Zolotova is currently in a legal dispute with Anastasia Goncharova, a previously unknown person claiming to be Mr. Bendukidze’s daughter. The key to this case will depend on DNA evidence taken from tissue samples belonging to the late oligarch. The daughter would like the tissue samples to be sent to Russia for testing while the widow would like to take hold of her late husband’s tissue samples.
See Oligarch’s widow fights ‘secret daughter’ in High Court battle over $1billion fortune, The Telegraph, October 15, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
