In a long-running divorce dispute, a UK banker has told the Court of Appeal that he should not have to pay a large sum of money to his ex-wife due to her “remarkably wealthy” family background.
Banker Mr Hossam Radwan, 46, and Ms Hayat Alireza, 38, were married for 14 years before they split in 2013.
At the point of divorce, former Goldman Sachs banker Mr Radwan was ordered to pay his former wife a £2m lump sum, which she accepted would give her income for 14 years.
He was also ordered to allow Ms Alireza the right to stay in their marital home – a luxury property located in South Kensington, London.
But according to reports, Ms Alireza told a divorce Judge that the London property was “too small” for her and her three children.
She argued that she was “penniless” and should be entitled to an additional £5.5m in order to buy a new home.
The dispute reached the High Court in 2015, where Mr Justice Roberts approved Mr Radwan’s offer of £2m and granted Ms Alireza the right to live in the South Kensington flat, with additional use of a next-door apartment as an ‘overspill’ area.
Mr Justice Roberts dismissed Ms Alireza’s claims for an additional lump sum, on account of the fact that her father, a wealthy Saudi businessman, would be leaving her approximately a fifth of his £500m estate in the near future, following his death.
But the disgruntled divorcee is now appealing the decision, arguing that it is “unfair” for her to rely on her elderly father for support.
At the Court of Appeal in recent days, Mr Radwan has argued that although he is rich, he is “much, much poorer” than his ex-wife’s family.
Mr Radwan is urging the Court to take Ms Alireza’s family wealth into consideration when delivering its judgment, while Ms Alireza has refused to disclose the true expected value of her eventual inheritance, according to reports.
She is arguing that “There is no principle of law that a wife should become the responsibility of her birth family upon divorce.”
The dispute continues.
MFG Solicitors’ family team can advise on divorce and related financial disputes. For more information, please contact us.
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