Wife of Russian oligarch asks UK court to jail him over unpaid legal fees
LONDON (Reuters) -The wife of a Russian oil tycoon asked a judge at the High Court in London on Wednesday to jail her husband, alleging he had repeatedly failed to pay her legal fees in their multi-million dollar divorce case.
Mikhail Kroupeev, the non-executive chairman of energy company Gulfsands, is accused by his wife Elena Kroupeeva of refusing to comply with numerous courts orders following the collapse of their 36-year marriage.
According to submissions from her legal team to the court, the couple separated in "tempestuous" circumstances after Kroupeeva discovered in 2023 her husband had for most of the last 20 years been living a double life with a secret second family in Russia.
She began proceedings for a financial settlement in July 2024, and in February, Kroupeev was ordered to pay just over 195,000 pounds towards her legal fees.
But her lawyers said he had failed to comply with that and other subsequent orders demanding he reveal the true extent of the wealth from his business empire.
He now owed her more than 837,000 pounds, they said, while a freezing order had also been made covering 38 million pounds ($51 million) of his assets. Her lawyers said the judge should now issue an order for his imprisonment for contempt of court.
"It is suggested that nothing short of a period of imprisonment will be an effective punishment," her lawyers said in their court submission.
Kroupeev's lawyer Michael Glaser said the allegations about their marriage and alleged affairs should not have been made.
"Not only are they not relevant, they are denied," he told the court, saying the contested court order was subject to an appeal.
However, the judge rejected his attempt to have the case adjourned.
The couple, who are both Russian nationals but have British citizenship, moved to Britain in 1993. Kroupeeva's lawyer Justin Warshaw said Kroupeev had made his fortune through his connections with Yuri Shafranik, a former Russian energy minister.
As well as Gulfsands, which Kroupeeva's lawyers said had a contract to export oil from Syria, his business interests included Jupiter Energy, which is involved in oil and gas exports in Kazakhstan, and Waterford Finance which specialises in oil, gas and other energy projects.
"They have been a very wealthy family for a very long time," Justin Warshaw, Kroupeeva's lawyer told the court, saying they lived an "opulent lifestyle".
The couple's assets were extensive, including a 15 million pound house in north London, luxury homes in Portugal and Turkey, and a portfolio of properties in Russia worth 10 million pounds, her lawyers said. The couple also took luxurious holidays that involved flying by private jet, they said.
"A large motivation for travelling privately would be to ensure that the family dogs could go on holiday with the family," her legal team said in their submission.
While Kroupeeva was in court on Wednesday, her husband, who is in Cyprus, attended remotely by videolink. The hearing continues.
($1 = 0.7432 pounds)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel in talks to resettle Gaza Palestinians in South Sudan, sources say
NAIROBI (Reuters) -South Sudan and Israel are discussing a deal to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in the troubled African nation, three sources told Reuters - a plan quickly dismissed as unacceptable by Palestinian leaders. The sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity, said no agreement had been reached but talks between South Sudan and Israel were ongoing. The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by years of political and ethnically-driven violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the information from the three sources. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said, "we do not speak to private diplomatic conversations," when asked about the plan and if the United States supported the idea. Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily. Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving Gaza's population to any country. Palestinians say that would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. The three sources said the prospect of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between Israeli officials and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba when he visited the country last month. Their account appeared to contradict South Sudan's foreign ministry which on Wednesday dismissed earlier reports on the plan as "baseless". The ministry was not immediately available to respond to the sources' assertions on Friday. News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter. Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Palestinian leadership and people "reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place". His statement echoed a statement from the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday. Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, told reporters that those discussions had not focussed on relocation. "This is not what the discussions were about," she said when asked if any such plan had been discussed. "The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organisations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war," she said, referring to her talks with Juba officials. Netanyahu, who met Kumba last month, has said Israel is in touch with a few countries to find a destination for Palestinians who want to leave Gaza. He has consistently declined to provide further details. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US cancels India trade talks scheduled for August, NDTV Profit says
(Reuters) -A planned visit by U.S. trade negotiators to New Delhi from August 25-29 has been canceled, delaying talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, Indian business and financial news network NDTV Profit reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. The current round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement is now likely to be deferred to another date, the report said, dashing hopes of some relief before the Aug. 27 deadline for the additional tariff on Indian goods kicks in. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations. The new import tax, which will come into effect from Aug 27, will raise duties on some Indian exports to as high as 50% - among the highest levied on any U.S. trading partner. Trade talks between New Delhi and Washington collapsed after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. India's Foreign Ministry has said the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the United States and European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia. Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Ukrainian sniper breaks world record with 13,000-foot kill shot against Russian forces: report
A Ukrainian sniper unit on Thursday reportedly broke the world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill, eliminating Russian troops from a distance of more than 13,000 feet. The shot, fired by a Ukrainian-produced rifle and aided by artificial intelligence and drone guidance, left two Russian soldiers dead in the area of Pokrovsk, Ukraine, the Kyiv Post reported. 'The record-breaking shot was made on Aug. 14, 2025, using artificial intelligence under the guidance of [an unmanned aerial vehicle] complex with a 14.5 mm alligator rifle,' said military journalist Yuri Butusov, according to the Kyiv Post. The shooting took place amid increased Russian attacks in the area surrounding Pokrovsk, which was once a city with more than 60,000 residents, the Post reported. The previous world record belonged to a 58-year-old Ukrainian sniper who eliminated a target from a distance of around 12,400 feet, the outlet added. The record-breaking shot reportedly took place a day before President Donald Trump's closely-watched summit Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 3 A Ukrainian soldier in the sniper unit of the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade readies a rifle during training on Nov. 4, 2023. Anadolu via Getty Images 3 The previous world record was held by another Ukrainian sniper who took out a Russian soldier from nearly 2½ miles away with a high-tech rifle known as 'Horizon's Lord.' SBU 3 Ukrainian soldiers take part in a sniper shooting exercise at a training facility outside Kyiv on Nov. 21, 2023. AFP via Getty Images Putin, who spoke first in a joint press conference held by the two world leaders, described the talks as a 'constructive atmosphere of mutual respect.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington, DC, Monday. Zelensky said in a post on X that he and Trump will 'discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.'
