An ally of Vladimir Putin who told a divorce court he was penniless had £240million worth of assets including a £4million art collection, a judge has found.
Vladimir Sloutsker, 69, who died from cancer in September, fought until his death to hide his assets, which include a luxurious nine-bedroom £45m family home in south Kensington, central London.
The month before his death, judge Mr Justice Garrido ordered Sloutsker to pay £25m to his ex-wife Alona and, in an unusual move, has now made the judgement public.
The judge said this was appropriate given Sloutsker’s position as a former senator in Russian parliament and his ‘serious and repeated litigation misconduct.’
The solicitor representing Alona Sloutsker, David Allison, said: ‘Unfortunately, Mr Sloutsker’s obstructive behaviour continued after trial until his death in late September.
‘Neither he nor his estate has paid a penny to his former wife and prior to his death he disappeared, cutting off all contact with his young children.’
Sloutsker, a former senator who represented the Chuvash Republic until 2010, made his vast fortune through ownership of the Russian investment vehicle Finvest.
He was a close political ally of the Russian president and co-founder of the Israeli Jewish Congress.
He claimed last year that his assets in Russia had been stolen, plunging him into severe financial hardship and leaving him unable to pay the mortgage on his London home.
The Russian had insisted that this change of circumstances had nothing to do with his wife’s pursuit of a divorce at the time.
Vladimir Sloutsker, 69, who died from cancer in September, had claimed his assets had been stolen
Judge Garrido found that his true wealth could be evidenced by documents generated on Sloutsker’s own behalf that had been signed or authorised by him, however.
Before the couple separated they had lived in a ‘very grand’ 2,790 sq m home which had a cinema room, heated indoor pool, commercial chef’s kitchen, a four-car garage and a gym, the court heard.
Sloutsker had spent millions redecorating and renovating the property, the judge added.
The couple’s holidays included a Christmas trip to ski resort Courchevel that cost almost £440,000, a £60,000 trip to Zermatt and a £350,000 summer holiday in Tuscany, the judge said.
Sloutsker’s London family home was worth about £45m – though he had failed to pay millions in mortgage repayments over the past 12 months, the court heard.
The Russian also had a £150m plot of land in Moscow as well as a £22m family home in the city, £17m worth of investments in US private equity and £4m in a Swiss bank account, the court heard.
Among the pieces in his £4m art collection is a £1m work by Michelangelo Pistoletto, a £2m George Condo and a piece by American artist Cindy Sherman worth £250,000.
The judge described Mr Sloutsker as a ‘dishonest witness’ who had ‘attempted to mislead’ the court.
Having died on September 26, the responsibility for the £25 million owed to Alona Sloutsker will now fall to Mr Sloutsker’s estate.
