Russian Billionaire’s Son Ordered to Pay Mother £75m

This is a case which has involved drama, Russian billionaires, disposal of assets and bitter family relationships. Unfortunately, this is not a TV drama but a real family law case.

Akhmedova v Akhmedova and Others [2020] EWHC 1526 (FAM)

In 2016, the Court ordered that Mrs Akhmedova should receive 41.5% of the matrimonial assets. That meant Mrs Akhmedova should receive around £453 million from her former husband. However, Mr Akhmedova had failed to pay what was owed and as a result Mrs Akhmedova made various applications to the Court.

Mrs Akhmedova claimed that her son, Temur Akhmedova, had been “his father’s lieutenant” and had assisted his father in doing all that he could to prevent her from receiving a penny of the matrimonial assets. The High Court agreed with Mrs Akhmedova and the Judge commented that Mrs Akhmedova had been “the victim of a series of schemes designed to put every penny of the husband’s wealth beyond her reach”. The Court found that Temur had lied to the Court on numerous occasions, breached several Court Orders and failed to provide full disclosure of his assets.

The Court held that the father had transferred very large sums of money to his son, Temur. As a consequence, the Court ordered that Temur was to pay his mother around £75 million pounds.

The Judge stated that the Akhmedova family was “one of the unhappiest ever” to have appeared in her Courtroom. Whilst the assets and large sums of money talked about in this case are those which many may dream of, the case is simple, in that it concerns a wife seeking to recover what is rightly owed to her by her husband.

This case also demonstrates the enormous reach and discretion of the Family Courts and most importantly the need to secure a good family lawyer to represent you as soon as possible.