Abramovich 'gives ex-wife £1b and four homes in world's costliest divorce'

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13 April 2012

Roman Abramovich has reportedly agreed to hand over property worth £50 million as part of what experts estimate is a record divorce pay out.

Last month the Chelsea owner transferred at least four of his luxury UK homes to ex-wife Irina, including an £18 million Sussex estate, the Daily Mirror has reported.

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Abramovich, 40, and his wife Irina, 39, were granted a "quickie" divorce in Moscow last month in what is believed to be the world's costliest marriage split.

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The £18 million Fyning Hill Estate in Petersfield, West Sussex, that was the Abramovichs' main base in the UK and is now rumoured to have been given to Irina as part of the divorce

The two London homes at Eaton Square (left) and Chester Square (right), also reportedly given to Irina

Irina is thought to have been given cash and property worth between £1 billion and £2 billion out of her husband's £11 billion fortune, though Russia's secretive legal system means exact details of the settlement will never be made public.

The divorce has led to speculation that Abramovich may be considering selling Chelsea football club, though his spokesman has insisted his business interests, including Chelsea, will not be affected.

It has been claimed that Abramovich agreed to divorce his wife after Russian president Vladimir Putin told him to "clean up his act".

The billionaire Chelsea FC owner, whose friendship with Putin has been likened to a father-son relationship, was told to sort out his personal life after his relationship with Daria Zhukova hit the headlines last year.

Putin's role in the Abramovich divorce will be revealed later this year in a new biography of the Russian leader by respected author Chris Hutchins, who is also Abramovich's biographer.

After pictures of Abramovich with former model Daria, 24, were published last October, Irina gave him an ultimatum to choose between her and his mistress, and when he refused to give up Daria, Irina demanded a divorce.

Russian President Putin told Ramon Abramovich (pictured with former wife Irina) to 'clean up his act' over his personal life

He was allegedly reluctant to grant her request, but shortly after Putin's intervention he changed his mind.

Mr Hutchins told the Mail: "Abramovich and Putin are incredibly close. Even though there's only a 10-year age gap between them, Putin regards Roman as something of a favourite son, and when Abramovich comes into the room Putin's face lights up.

"When the rumours about Abramovich's private life started surfacing last year, Putin told him to get his act cleaned up. Putin is a real family man and did not approve of Roman's relationship with Daria or the publicity it has generated.

"He sees Abramovich as something of an ambassador for Russia and made it clear Abramovich should settle his personal affairs.

"Abramovich tends to do what Putin tells him, in business and in his personal life, and Putin's intervention would certainly have influenced his decision to grant his wife an uncontested divorce."

The showdown between Abramovich and Irina is understood to have happened in December.

Although Irina could have fought for up to half of her husband's fortune, particularly if she had divorced him in the UK, she agreed to settle for much less in order to avoid a messy, and highly public, court case.

Instead the divorce was granted in Moscow, where neither party even had to attend the court hearing in mid-February.

Divorces can be granted just six weeks after papers are lodged in Russia, with the marriage dissolved in a single court session.

Mr Hutchins said that although both parties walked away "with enough money to keep them rich if they lived for the next 500 years", Irina was "absolutely devastated" by the split.

"She never wanted this," he said.

"She never wanted the marriage to fail, but she is also very proud and there was no way she was going to stay married if he was going to continue seeing Daria.

"For his part, this will be the most embarrassing day of his life, because he absolutely loathes publicity."

Abramovich was so desperate to keep his relationship with Daria out of the public eye that he tried to obtain a High Court injunction last year to prevent a Sunday newspaper printing details of their liaisons around the world. A judge threw out his application.

Model Daria Zhukova has been seen with Abramovich in Paris

On Tuesday photographs of Abramovich strolling through Paris with Daria were offered for sale to national newspapers, only for them to be mysteriously withdrawn by the freelance photographer who took them.

Hours later, Abramovich's spokesman John Mann issued a statement revealing the divorce.

Friends of Irina believe she may now relocate to the south of France with the couple's children Anna, 12, Arkady, 11, Sonya, 10, Arina, four, and Ilya, two.

One source told the Mail: "Abramovich bought the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's former home in Antibes for £15m and Irina absolutely adores the place, whereas Roman never really liked it. That is where she is happiest, and it looks as though she will be based there in future.

"Roman may also spend less time in the UK, because he feels he has no privacy in London. He may well base himself in a country where no-one has heard of him, like America."

Abramovich and Daria left the Fouquet's hotel in Paris, where they have been staying since Sunday night, in the early hours of yesterday.

Guests at the hotel, where the top suite costs £5,755 per night, said Daria was frequently seen kissing Abramovich and stroking his arm.

Abramovich would have had no problem in paying for his divorce in cash, as he has sold his vast shareholdings in Russian oil giant Sibneft and aluminium firm Rusal over the past three years, leaving him with around £7.5 billion in cash.

He retains large shareholdings in Russian steel firm Evraz, drugs firm Pharmstandard, and has sizeable commercial property interests and shares in publishing and consumer products in Russia.

Abramovich was a struggling businessman when he married Irina, his second wife, in 1991, and his entire wealth has been built up during the marriage, giving her substantial bargaining power in the divorce settlement.

Russian courts often award a wife half of the wealth built up during the marriage, which in Abramovich's case is his whole fortune, though there was no doubt yesterday she had settled for substantially less.

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