Woman who won UK’s biggest divorce payout is taking her son to court

A woman who won Britain’s biggest divorce payout is taking her son to court after accusing him of helping his father hide assets.

British citizen, Tatiana Akhmedova, believes that her 27-year-old son Temur is helping his father, Farkhad Akhmedov, to hide assets from British authorities, according to a report in Mail Online.

Tatiana, 52, had secured a £453 million payout from her ex-husband Russian oligarch Farkhad, 64, following the end of their 10-year marriage in 2016. The High Court of England and Wales had awarded Tatiana 41.5% of Farkhad’s $1 billion-plus fortune in 2016, a total of $557 million.

Azerbaijan-born Farkhad became a senator in Russia after making his money in oil and gas. He featured on a 2018 US government list of Russian business and political elites. The court was told the wealthy oligarch and purported ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin had only stumped up $6 million — and not voluntarily.

Tatiana had gone through great efforts in trying to claim the money she was granted in the ruling. Farkhad has already handed over a £20 million home and a £30 million art collection worth to her.

She had launched legal action in Britain and overseas, including Dubai, to try to get her hands on the cash and assets, including a luxury superyacht and a $141 million art collection.

Earlier, a Dubai court had rejected an appeal filed by the tycoon to lift a freezing order of his £350 million (Dh1.67 billion) superyacht, documents. The MV Luna which was at the centre of a £453 million legal battle between the couple, according to a Khaleej Times report.

Farkhad’s luxury superyacht, which has two helipads, nine decks, 10 VIP cabins, a swimming pool and a spa, was seized at the Rashid Port — when it docked there for some maintenance work — in February 2018 in implementation of a UK court order. The 377-foot yacht was bought from Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich.

A raid on Temur's home recently resulted in the seizure of electronic devices which are alleged to contain vital information on the case. A court judge said that there was ‘evidence’ of Temur possessing ‘incriminating documents’ and a ‘real possibility’ that he would destroy them if the raid had not been carried out, according to a Times report.

The judge also said that his actions would mar his mother’s ability to claim for the entitlement. Temur does not live in the apartment and according to sources, he is furious about his mother and her lawyers’ behaviour.

A hearing on Temur is expected to take place at the end of the month.

• UK