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In search of the oligarch's treasure: Tatiana Akhmedova
Photo: Rick Findler / AP
Russia's mineral resources are the source of wealth for many Russian oligarchs.
However, the billionaires like to bring their money to the people far away from home, preferably in Great Britain.
Many billionaires have relocated the center of their families' lives to London, which has earned the British capital the nickname »Londongrad« in professional circles.
There are always sensational wars of divorce - which give rare insights into the life of a caste of super-rich, who are otherwise keen to avoid the public.
Battle for Abramovich yacht
The Akhmedov clan is at the center of such a process.
Farchad Akhmedov, 65, has made his fortune in the gas business. The business magazine Forbes recently estimated his fortune at around 1.4 billion dollars.
However, Akhmedov's extremely costly divorce war has been dragging on since 2013: a British court had ordered the oligarch to pay his ex-wife Tatiana Akhmedova around £ 450 million from his assets.
Since then, her lawyers have been struggling to get hold of the money.
So far, however, their efforts have remained unsuccessful.
A British court approved the seizure of the ship "Luna", a luxury yacht that Akhmedov had taken over from Roman Abramowitsch for 260 million euros.
For two years, the »Luna« was stuck in Dubai - until a court there came to the conclusion that the decision of the London judiciary was contrary to Sharia law, as »Forbes« reports (click here for the Russian report).
The ship was released again.
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Temur Akhmedov
Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / REUTERS
Overall, the divorced wife's camp estimates the sum collected so far at five million pounds.
That is "not even enough to buy a bag of chips."
Just unlucky?
Now they want to take action against their son Temur Akhmedov.
They accuse him of helping father Farchad Akhmedov to remove securities and other valuables from the ex-wife's access.
The strategy with which the son Temur defends himself against the allegations is remarkable: he unfortunately did not inherit his father's business skills.
In no way did he help move funds.
The truth is more profane: he gambled away the money - a sum of 50 million dollars - on the stock exchange.
The father was "shocked" by the amount of money and the speed, the news agency "Bloomberg" quotes the son (click here for the report).
All of this happened while he was studying at the London School of Economics.
How much he learned at university is questionable: the oligarch scion states that in view of his losses, he was "convinced that he was just unlucky."
He has therefore increased the stakes and the risk even further.
Mother Tatjana states that the relationship with her son is "now very disturbed".
You see no other option but to sue him.
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