A London High Court judge has ruled that the son of a Russian billionaire assisted his father in hiding millions of pounds from his mother following a divorce settlement. Tatiana Akhmedova, a Russian national living in London, was awarded £453 million in 2017 but has only received £5 million.
Mrs Justice Knowles found that Farkhad Akhmedov, 65, transferred assets including a superyacht worth £340 million and an art collection valued at £110 million into trusts in Liechtenstein to avoid payment. The judge also ordered Temur Akhmedov, the couple's eldest son and a London trader, to pay his mother approximately £75 million.
In her judgment, Mrs Justice Knowles described Temur as an "untruthful and unsatisfactory witness" who lied in his evidence. She stated, "Temur has learned well from his father's past conduct and has done and said all he could to prevent his mother receiving a penny of the matrimonial assets."
The court heard that in a WhatsApp message, Farkhad Akhmedov told his son he would "burn" his wealth rather than give it to his ex-wife, to which Temur replied that she "didn't deserve" a penny. Ms Akhmedova said her ex-husband's behaviour had "left a trail of destruction and pain in his wake."
Farkhad Akhmedov criticised the ruling, stating it visited "the sins of the father on an innocent and loyal son." A spokesman for Temur said he was "caught up in the break-up of his parents' marriage" and acted only to "end the war between his parents."
