Nazi gold millionaire forced to pay ex-wife £2.4m

A millionaire who hid three gold bars smuggled out of Nazi Austria from his ex-wife, today claimed to be "impoverished" after Court of Appeal judges ordered him to pay her £2.4 million.

Businessman Peter Brandon, 67, says the ruling means he is penniless while his ex-wife Christina continues to live in comfort in a £2 million house. He had challenged the £2.4 million divorce payout, claiming it is £400,000 more than his entire wealth.

Earlier this year Mr Justice Ryder found that Mr Brandon had tried to conceal a "secret pot" of assets worth £2 million including the three gold bars.

Mr Brandon said the bars had been spirited out of Austria by his father and grandfather secreted in their clothes during the Thirties. They had been simply "lying around" the 11-bedroom matrimonial home near High Wycombe, but he had no idea where they were now.

But Mrs Brandon, 62, who still lives at the house, insisted the disappearance of the gold was part of her ex-husband's attempt to conceal his true wealth.

Now Appeal Court judges Lord Justices Ward and Longmore have backed her and ordered Mr Brandon to pay the £2.4 million, including the house.