A Russian Millionaire has appealed to have his ex-wife’s “over-generous” divorce payout reduced.
The wife of 47-year-old Boris Zimin was awarded £6 million in 2014 by a Russian court, but was awarded a further £1.15 million by the High Court in London after asking for her “reasonable needs” to be reassessed.
Ella Zimina still resides in the £5 million family home in Kensington with the couple’s three teenage children.
She said she was forced to readjust to a more “modest” lifestyle since the divorce, while her husband continued to maintain a lavish and extravagant standard of living.
Ms Zimina told the court how he continued to enjoy “sumptuous properties in the sun, use of a £3.5 million yacht and ownership of a £850,000 helicopter”.
Mr Zimin appealed the decision to increase the payout, claiming his ex-wife had taken advantage of “generous” UK divorce courts.
“If a wife has millions of pounds, the wife is clearly not suffering hardship. It is impossible to characterise the provision made in Russia as inadequate,” his lawyer said.
He said the deal was agreed in Russia and should be respected unless there was evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, or duress.
“The husband made every possible effort to have the case resolved quickly, and ideally cheaply, from the start.”
Richard Todd QC, for Mrs Zimina, said she had “lived relatively frugally” after the split while her ex-husband “enjoyed the yacht and took up learning how to fly his new helicopter”.
“In a case where the husband had assets in excess of £40.5 million… the wife’s needs should have been assessed on a generously interpreted basis,” he said.
The judges have reserved their ruling until a later date.
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