A Brazilian-born yoga teacher and birth doula has won a High Court battle against her brother-in-law over her late husband's multi-million pound property empire. Gabriela Teixeira, 51, was initially cut out of the estate of Abbas Moaven, a wealthy London property investor and restaurateur who died in 2012 aged 45.
Mrs Teixeira, who married Abbas in 2002 after meeting him at his Notting Hill restaurant, expected to share his fortune with their two children. However, weeks before his death, Abbas signed legal documents declaring that four properties worth over £3m were jointly owned with his mother and brother, Amir, leaving the estate potentially worthless due to debts.
Mrs Teixeira, alongside her children Elis and Aryan, launched legal action against Amir Moaven, arguing the documents were a 'sham'. The court heard that lawyers' notes from a meeting with Amir revealed concerns that Mrs Teixeira might 'disappear to Brazil' with the children after Abbas's death.
Deputy Master Timothy Bowles ruled that the declaration of trusts was a 'fiction' and a 'sham' designed to prevent the widow from accessing most of the wealth. The properties now form part of Abbas's estate, which could be worth up to £5m, to be inherited by Mrs Teixeira and her children.
