Oligarch’s Son Says He Lacks Cash to Fight His Mother in U.K.’s Largest Divorce
Oligarch’s Son Says He Lacks Cash to Fight His Mother in U.K.’s Largest Divorce
(Bloomberg) -- A dispute between the son of a Russian oligarch and his mother tied to the U.K.’s largest divorce hit a snag after the son told a London court that he didn’t have the money to pay lawyers.
Temur Akhmedov has been caught up in the dispute between Farkhad Akhmedov and his ex-wife over her attempts to collect a 450 million-pound ($600 million) divorce judgment. Temur said via videolink Wednesday that he’d flown back to Moscow after his lawyers dropped him.
“I got stressed, I got scared,” Temur said on what was supposed to be the first day of a trial. “I’m 27, but I’m being sued by my mother.”
Temur, who said he’s been drinking a lot, said he was forced to represent himself.
Tatiana Akhmedova alleges that her former husband transferred assets to their son to avoid paying the London divorce judgment that she says remains “almost entirely unsatisfied.” Her hunt for assets has spanned at least six countries -- mostly centered on a superyacht holed up in Dubai.
The new trial stems from a December 2016 order that the billionaire must pay 41% of his assets to his wife. Akhmedov refused to take part in the U.K. case and moved back to Russia.
Judge Gwynneth Knowles said she’d consider postponing the hearing until next week for him to get a loan to pay his attorneys.
“I expect you to get on a plane and come to London,” she told him.
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