The ex-wife of Russian steel producer Vladimir Potanin is demanding $ 7 billion in alimony in a London courtroom
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin is threatened with the third largest petition for divorce in the world after Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Natalia Potanina, the ex-wife of Russia’s largest metal producer, has asked a London divorce court to claim 50% of the value of her future ex-husband’s stake in MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, which is roughly a little over $ 7 billion, Bloomberg reported. Potanina, who already owns a third of the shares in the metal producer, filed a lawsuit after overturning a lower court ruling accusing her of “divorce tourism”.
The Russian businessman is now waiting to see whether the London court will accept his wife’s appeal, Judge Nicholas Francis told the publication. In addition to the above amount, Potanina is also aiming for dividends equal to 50% of its shares as of 2014, which according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index is 487.3 billion rubles ($ 6.6 billion). The ex-wife has also claimed half the value of an expensive Russian property known as the Autumn House. In addition, Potanina is also said to have received a “poor award” of $ 40 million, of which Potanin says $ 84 million, a judge said at the previous hearing. For inexperienced people, the sum of the “Patry Award” is based on the length of the marriage and the man’s assets according to English standards, in this case 31 years of marriage.
London courts are becoming a popular destination for high profile divorces
London courts have been a draw for high-profile divorces, with judges willing to order a more even share of a couple’s assets, Bloomberg reported. The largest known public payout in the UK remained at £ 450 million ($ 361 million) to the wife of Farkhad Akhmedov’s wife, but the couple settled with less than a third of the amount. Another Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev, was also faced with a heavy maintenance claim, which was settled after six jurisdictions and years of exasperation. His wife Elena Rybolovleva initially received $ 4.5 billion, which was later cut to $ 600 million in a later judgment.
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