Ex-wife of Roman Abramovich 'sulked' him with a villa in Saint-Tropez
'17.10.2018'
Source: Inopressa
Irina Abramovich, the former wife of billionaire Roman Abramovich, is in a fierce battle with her former assistant, Elar Hoffmann, in the High Court of London.
Journalist Tom Harper reports: Hoffmann “accuses the former boss of using several offshore companies to evade British taxes on her private jet and to cheat her ex-husband. Irina, for her part, denies everything. She filed a counterclaim against Hoffmann, claiming that she managed her finances for 5 years and made mistakes that caused her to lose 19 million pounds (24 million dollars), ”writes Inopressa.
The publication goes to the details: "Including the ex-assistant claims that Irina arranged so that during the divorce, Abramovich's lawyers were sent forged documents, which prompted him to overpay 9 million euros (10,4 million dollars) for a villa in Saint-Tropez" ...
“In documents filed with the High Court, Hoffmann argues that under a $ 300 million divorce agreement, Irina was allowed to spend up to € 50 million ($ 58 million) on real estate in the Cote d'Azur region in southern France, if she can provide ex-husband with “proper proof of expenses”.
“Hoffmann claims that Irina bought the villa“ for about 38 million euros ($ 44 million), ”and then, together with a certain Swiss lawyer, conceived a plan to“ dishonestly persuade ”her ex-husband to pay her the“ balance, ”the article says.
Irina "sought to create a fictitious agreement between two offshore companies-laying / ... /, which intended to falsely indicate the" costs "of more than 9 million euros related to" Sophie's Choice "(the mansion chosen by Irina for purchase. - Ed.)" , the lawsuit said.
“According to the materials of the court case, then Irina received cash from Abramovich to cover“ fictitious expenses ”. The ex-assistant claims that the friction due to this allegedly opaque transaction led to a deterioration in her relationship with Irina, ”the article says.
Hoffman argues that there was friction also over the company through which Irina paid the servants. “Irina has repeatedly asked for control over the company's electronic payment devices in order to make bank transfers.” Hoffmann claims she refused, stating that it “could be tantamount to illegal banking,” the article says.
According to the publication, tensions escalated when in 2015 British tax inspectors put before Irina the question of “alleged non-payment of VAT from her private plane” (the author's wording).
“Hoffmann argues that Irina“ under tax agreements ”owned the plane through a certain company and was entitled to a VAT refund if the company carried out charter flights for third parties. She claims that Irina told her to turn down many offers to rent the plane, which, according to Hoffmann, "risked being illegal." Irina returned 93500 pounds (120 thousand dollars) to the tax authorities, according to Hoffmann's claim, ”the article says.
For her part, Irina claims that Hoffmann did not pay VAT in the way she was supposed to, which led to a tax audit.
The newspaper recounts several accusations made by Irina against Hoffmann: the villa in Saint-Tropez was acquired at an “extremely inflated” price, which cost Irina 17,3 million pounds (22 million dollars) out of her own pocket.
Hoffman "tried to get a kickback from the deal and wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds on reconstruction" (the publication's wording). The newspaper cites examples from the lawsuit: builders forgot to plug in an electronic mosquito repellant system, a wild boar fence was malfunctioning, a wine cellar was left without a cooling system, and guests' hair turned green because the pool was being treated with inappropriate chemicals.
The parties categorically deny each other’s allegations, the case will be heard in the High Court next year, reports the publication.
