Five months after denying "incorrect and hurtful" reports
of an imminent split, Russia's richest man, billionaire Roman
Abramovich, has confirmed his 16-year marriage to wife Irina is
over. In what may be one of the most costly divorces in history,
the pair issued a statement saying Abramovich's corporate interests
- which include the Chelsea Football Club -- would not however be
affected.
"Mr and Mrs Abramovich have divorced in Russia on a consensual
basis and have agreed terms in respect of arrangements for their
(five) children and a financial settlement," the statement said,
without giving any details. The divorce follows newspaper reports
that Abramovich has been seen with a young Russian model, Daria
Zhukova.
Dasha Zhukova
Newspapers, many of which ran the story on their front pages, said
Irina Abramovich could get as much as half of her husband's
estimated $18.7 billion (10 billion pounds) fortune and said it was
the biggest divorce settlement in the world.Experts on divorce law
said a 50/50 split of wealth accrued during the marriage would be
normal procedure in Russia.
"Russian divorce law is pretty straightforward. You must equally
split all property and assets which have been amassed since you
have been married," said a lawyer at a major Western legal firm in
Moscow. But a source who worked with Abramovich for several years
told Reuters Irina Abramovich was unlikely to get 50 percent.
"I'm pretty sure it is not going to be a 50/50 percent split. She
will simply get some money, but whether it will be dozens of
millions, hundreds of millions or billions -- that's something that
only a very small group of people will know," the source
said.
Abramovich, an orphan, split from his first wife, Olga, in 1990 and
married Irina in 1991. The 40-year-old, who built up his fortune
mostly from oil and aluminium businesses during the chaos that
followed the fall of the Soviet Union, has become the poster boy
for Russia's oligarchs, known for savvy business deals and
sumptuous living.
Listed by Forbes magazine as the world's 16th richest person he is
a source of fascination for the tabloid newspapers, who regularly
splash photos of him and his former wife. The tycoon, who is
notoriously shy of the media, denied a newspaper report last
October that his wife had been talking to divorce lawyers amid
reports of her husband's close friendship with Zhukova, 25.
Abramovich's spokesman described the reports at the time as
"incorrect and hurtful" and said suggestions the Abramoviches were
facing serious difficulties were "similarly untrue". The divorce
news broke too late for Russian newspapers, but Moscow radio
stations and Web sites had it as the top story on Wednesday.
Some Web sites showed pictures of Abramovich next to Zhukova,
saying the strikingly beautiful daughter of an oil magnate and
former girl-friend of Russian tennis star Marat Safin has been the
main reason for Abramovich's divorce.
