Dh1.67b yacht at centre of UK divorce battle to remain in Dubai

Dubai - Akhmedov's superyacht was seized at the Rashid Port in 2018.

A Dubai court has rejected an appeal filed by a Russian tycoon to lift a freezing order of his £350 million (Dh1.67 billion) superyacht, documents accessed by Khaleej Times show. The M.V. Luna is at the centre of a £453 million legal battle between the Russian billionaire and his ex-wife.
Farkhad Akhmedov's superyacht was seized at the Rashid Port - when it docked there for some maintenance work - in February 2018 in implementation of a UK court order.
After the Dubai Sharia Court rejected his appeal, his wife, Tatiana Akhmedova's legal team said in a statement: "We are pleased that this court has also seen fit to maintain the arrest of the Luna. In line with the UK court order, we will continue to arrange the formal transferal of the Luna's ownership to Ms. Akhmedova."
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts had heard the lawsuit as a commercial case for about four months. In May, the DIFC courts dismissed the lawsuit and referred it to the Dubai Sharia Court as a marital dispute.
After rejecting Akhmedov's appeal, the court obliged Straight Establishment (the current legal owner of the yacht and which Akhmedov claims is his family trust) to pay the court fees and Dh500 as attorney costs. The establishment has an automatic right to appeal this judgement within 10 days.
As per the UK court order, the 61-year-old billionaire was to pay £453 million to his ex-wife. He was directed to cede the 377-ft yacht to her after reportedly failing to comply with the court order.
The Luna has two helipads, nine decks, 10 VIP cabins, a swimming pool and a spa.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai