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Russian Billionaire’s Freezing Order Melted in Frozen Fish Fight

Russian Billionaire’s Freezing Order Melted in Frozen Fish Fight

(Bloomberg) -- A U.K. judge lifted an asset freeze on the Russian billionaire owner of a fish supplier to McDonald’s Corp. and Birds Eye after new documents turned up during an office move.

Vitaly Orlov, who took control of Norebo Holding JSC in 2016 after building a fortune from 25 years working in the fishing industry, is fighting with his former business partner Alexander Tugushev over a one-third stake in the Murmansk-based company.

The dispute centers around whether Tugushev gave up his share in the company -- which is now benefiting from sanctions that limit food imports to Russia -- when he started to work for a Russian state committee more than 15 years ago.

Orlov recently found new signed documents related to Tugushev’s appointment to the committee, and the judge said that Tugushev’s failure to investigate whether or not he had signed such declarations was “reckless disregard” of his duty of full and frank disclosure to the court.

“Tugushev has fabricated claims in Russia and in England,” a spokesperson for Orlov said in a statement on the Norebo website, adding that the newly discovered documents showed that Tugushev’s shares in the company were not misappropriated by Orlov.

A London judge granted an order freezing $350 million of Orlov’s assets in July last year. Judge Sue Carr didn’t reinstate such an order as she said that Orlov was unlikely to try to devalue or hide his assets - which include a 13 million-pound ($15 million) apartment in London, property in Spain’s Gran Canaria and a Mercedes worth $50,000 as well as his holdings in Norebo.

A spokesperson for Tugushev said that the decision “does not affect at all Mr. Tugushev’s ability to continue to prosecute his claim in the London courts, which he will continue to do in order to secure the full value of Mr. Tugushev’s ownership interests in the Norebo Group.”

The case is Tugushev v. Vitaly Orlov and others, High Court of Justice, Case No. CL-2018-000498.

--With assistance from Peter Chapman.

To contact the reporter on this story: Áine Quinn in Moscow at aquinn38@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Gregory L. White

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.