City trader at heart of parents' £450m divorce battle is a 'compulsive liar', court told
The son of a Russian billionaire at the centre of his parents’ £453 million divorce battle has admitted hiding his phone from a court as he was accused of being a “compulsive liar”.
Temur Akhmedov is being sued by his mother, Tatiana Akhmedova, for allegedly helping his father, Farkhad Akhmedov, hide assets following the breakdown of their marriage.
Ms Akhmedova, 48, was awarded a 41.5 per cent share of Mr Akhmedov's £1 billion-plus fortune in 2016 - believed to be the biggest divorce settlement made by a British court - but has only received around £5 million and claims her ex-husband, 65, has not “voluntarily” paid anything.
On Monday, at the start of a trial in the Family Division of the High Court, it emerged Temur, 27, had admitted to breaching a court order in an 11th-hour witness statement.
His statement, provided to the parties in the legal case on Sunday night, said he had not complied with an order to disclose electronic devices, the court was told.
Alan Gourgey QC, who leads Ms Akhmedova’s legal team, told the court Temur had said in the statement he was “fearful that strangers who wished to do me harm would have access to my personal and private data”.
The barrister said Joyce van Engelen, Temur’s housekeeper in France, had claimed the trader paid a courier to deliberately “lose” a parcel containing his electronics, which he denies.
Mr Gourgey told the court: “Colluding to ensure a court order is not complied with by getting the devices lost is perverting the course of justice. These are very, very serious matters.”
Temur's statement admitted breaching the court’s order and demonstrated he was a “a compulsive liar who has no compunction to pervert the course of justice to suit his own ends”, Mr Gourgey said.
Temur has insisted he has now given a “truthful account” and has offered to disclose devices including a phone and a laptop, the court heard.
Robert Levy QC, who is leading Temur’s legal team, said there had been a “last-minute, come-to-Jesus moment”.
The case, which is being heard by Mrs Justice Knowles, continues.
