A Russian oligarch who maintained a secret second family has been ordered by the High Court to transfer £100 million in cash and properties to his former wife. Mikhail Kroupeev, a naturalised British citizen, married Elena Kroupeeva in Russia in 1988 before relocating to the United Kingdom in 1993. Their marriage unraveled in 2023 when Ms Kroupeeva discovered that her husband had another wife and a child in Russia, born around 2008.
Financial Dispute and Court Proceedings
The couple, who have two children together, have been locked in a financial dispute since 2024, pending their divorce. In June of last year, the court learned that Mr Kroupeev's business empire included a company holding a contract to export oil from Syria valued at $1.5 to $2 billion, as well as a firm involved in exporting oil and gas from Kazakhstan. Mr Kroupeev refused to allow these assets to be valued, resulting in a 28-day prison sentence for contempt of court.
High Court Hearing and Ruling
During a four-day High Court hearing in February, lawyers representing Ms Kroupeeva requested that the judge award her the former marital home—a seven-bedroom property in St John's Wood, London, worth approximately £14.4 million—along with properties in Russia and Portugal valued at a combined £26 million, and lump sums totaling £32.1 million. Mr Kroupeev, who represented himself via video link, argued that while the properties could be transferred, he should only be required to pay £300,000.
Deputy High Court Judge James Ewins KC ruled that Mr Kroupeev must pay £60 million to his wife and transfer the three properties. In his judgment published yesterday, Judge Ewins noted that Mr Kroupeev's conduct in the case had been 'significantly tainted by his ongoing breach of various court orders,' which persisted up to the February hearing.
Lifestyle and Assets
The judge remarked that during their 35-year marriage, the couple enjoyed an exceptionally high standard of living. This included residing in a seven-bedroom home in St John's Wood with their children, along with properties in Portugal, Turkey, and Russia. Their lifestyle featured private jet travel for holidays, including an annual Christmas trip to Mustique where they stayed in a £200,000 villa. Ms Kroupeeva indulged in twice-yearly shopping trips to Milan, while Mr Kroupeev amassed collections of wine, watches, and firearms.
Ms Kroupeeva claimed that her access to approximately £40,000 per month was terminated by late 2024 following the marriage breakdown. Mr Kroupeev asserted he had limited liquid funds, but the judge highlighted that the businessman had spent over £523,000 on his American Express credit card between October 2024 and September 2025 and had also financed education for his second family.
Credibility and Affordability
Judge Ewins described Ms Kroupeeva's evidence as 'coherent and consistent,' while deeming Mr Kroupeev's testimony 'profoundly unsatisfactory and lacking credibility.' He stated: 'His repeated apologies proffered during his oral evidence, whilst superficially reasonable, rang hollow when considered in the context of his repeated and ongoing contempt of court.' The judge concluded that transferring assets worth £100.6 million to Ms Kroupeeva was 'affordable' for Mr Kroupeev, as it required him to liquidate only a fraction of his available financial resources.
In a statement distributed by her law firm, Payne Hicks Beach, Mrs Kroupeeva expressed she was 'delighted' with the ruling, which brought an end to 'a period of troubling insecurity.'
