Dh1.67 billion yacht to remain held at Port Rashid, rules Dubai court

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Dh1.67 billion yacht to remain held at Port Rashid, rules Dubai court

The court dismissed the appeal by the owner and upheld an earlier court order that Luna remains under arrest.

by

Marie Nammour

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Published: Thu 22 Nov 2018, 2:26 PM

Last updated: Thu 20 Dec 2018, 10:53 AM

The Dubai Court of Appeals has confirmed on Wednesday that the arrest warrant, under which £350 million (Dh 1.67 billion) MV Luna is being held at Port Rashid, shall not be lifted. 
The latest development in the case came after lawyers acting on behalf of 61-year-old Russian tycoon Farkhad Akhmedov could not persuade the judge panel that the arrest imposed on the yacht should be lifted; and therefore MV Luna cannot set sail from Dubai. 
The court dismissed the appeal by the owner and upheld an earlier court order that Luna remains under arrest. 
It obliged the yacht owner to settle the court fees and Dh1,000 as lawyer expenses. 
Lawyers acting for the tycoon's ex-wife Tatiana Akhmedova said: "We are pleased that the Dubai Court of Appeals has maintained the arrest on MV Luna- as we have previously made clear, the yacht will remain in Port Rashid." 
On August 29, the same court rejected an appeal filed by Akhmedov to lift a freezing order of his superyacht, the vessel was seized at Port Rashid -when it docked there for some maintenance work- in February 2018 in the implementation of a UK court order. 
After rejecting Akhmedov's appeal in August, the court obliged the yacht owner to pay the court fees and Dh500 as attorney costs.
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. 
The legal battle over Luna comes within a divorce settlement. As per the UK court order, the 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


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