It’s described as Britain’s most expensive divorce and it involves a Russian billionaire and his ex-wife.
At the center of the dispute is this $500 million yacht.
It has been seized by authorities in Dubai.
Its name is Luna.
With a total of nine decks, it features two heliports, a spa and a swimming pool.
And typically needs a crew of 50.
It’s even reportedly the 23rd largest yacht in the world.
So, why is this super luxury yacht being held at this port?
This is Farkhad Akhmedov.
He had two sons with his wife, Tatiana Akhmedov.
The couple met while Tatiana was studying in Moscow.
The two married and moved to London in 1993.
Here, he amassed two helicopters, fine art and a $26 million home outside of London.
They eventually divorced, but the exact time of the divorce is unclear.
In 2016, a High Court judge ordered him to pay $646 million to his ex-wife.
But he refused.
He claimed that they had already been divorced in Russia, more than a decade earlier.
Yet the judge claimed the divorce paperwork was forged,
even claiming that Akhmedov had been hiding his assets in
So earlier this year, he ordered him to hand over this yacht to his ex-wife.
When it arrived in Dubai for maintenance, it was seized.
Earlier this year, the oligarch appeared on “The Putin list,” a list released by
the U.S. Treasury Department of people who became prominent under President Putin.
But here’s where it gets even more interesting.
Tatiana has hired Burford Capital.
It’s a firm that’s helping to finance her side of the legal battle.
Burford is a litigation finance firm that backs costly lawsuits,
with the hopes of eventually getting a nice cut of the settlement.
It’s part of a growing industry known as litigation finance,
and what the Wall Street Journal recently called “the hot new law job.”
It’s kind of like sports betting, but with lawsuits.
And in the meantime, Burford has given her a lump sum, which covers her living expenses.
In addition to lawyers, the two sides have both hired PR firms.
So, what started as a dispute between the billionaire and his wife, now has many other
stakeholders, including investors, spanning Britain and Russia to Dubai,
as this superyacht awaits its fate in Dubai’s scorching sun.