A housewife awarded £453 million by a judge after her marriage to a billionaire businessman broke down is back in court for the latest round of a legal battle.
Tatiana Akhmedova was given a 41.5% share of Farkhad Akhmedov’s £1 billion-plus fortune following a London divorce court money fight.
Court of Appeal judges were on Wednesday considering legal issues in the case at a follow-up hearing in London.
News of Ms Akhmedova’s payout emerged during the summer of 2017 following a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London overseen by a High Court judge.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave revealed detail of the case in a written ruling published on a legal website.
His award was thought to be the biggest made by a divorce court judge in England.
He had analysed issues at a private hearing and had not named anyone involved in his ruling.
But appeal judges Sir James Munby, Lord Justice Lewison and Lady Justice King are analysing issues at a public hearing.
Mr Akhmedov and Ms Akhmedova were named on public listings of the case and the three appeal judges have imposed no restrictions on reporting.
The appeal court hearing is expected to end later this week.
Ms Akhmedova was in court for the start of the hearing.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said in his ruling that the couple had shared a home in Surrey.
The judge said the “husband” was in his 60s, came from the Caucasus, and had worked as a London oil and gas trader before building up a fortune in the Russian energy business.
He said the “wife” came from eastern Europe but had been a British citizen since 2000.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the “wife” had been a housewife and mother to the couple’s now grown-up sons.
The judge said the “husband” argued he had made a “special contribution” to the generation of wealth.
He concluded that both had made “equal contributions to the welfare of the family”.
Mr Akhmedov and Ms Akhmedova have been named in a media report of the case in Russia.
But their names had not publicly emerged in Britain.