Brothers in bitter feud over doctor’s £1 million house

The home in Surbiton was gifted by Dr Mahmud to his three sons

The son of a consultant radiologist has beaten his brother in a bitter family feud over the proceeds of a £1 million home.

Joesef Ibrahim Moustafa has been locked in a legal battle with Salih Mahmud over the property in Surbiton, which was given to them by their “generous” father Dr Mohanned Mahmud eight years ago.

When the family decided to sell up, Mr Mahmud demanded a greater share of the proceeds by claiming he had put £240,000 into extensive renovation of the five-bedroom home.

He claimed he had hired a builder he met in the pub to carry out renovation work, turning it from “almost a demolition property” into a £1 million home.

But his father insisted he had been the one to bankroll the work, while Mr Moustafa, 31, a youth football coach, said his brother had failed to share about £200,000 in rental income.

At Central London county court, Judge Wulwik ruled in favour of the father and son, saying Mr Mahmud was “unreliable and untruthful” in his evidence.

Property row: the £1m house in Surbiton

It also emerged during the case that Mr Mahmud had spent two years in prison in Saudi Arabia from 2008 to 2010, when he had claimed to be away working.

“I reject Salih’s evidence that he paid for any of the works with his own monies,” said the judge, finding that Mr Mahmud had produced “bogus documents” to support his case.

“I entirely reject Salih’s evidence that he did any of the works himself or is otherwise entitled to be paid in connection with any of the works carried out on the property.”

The court heard Dr Mahmud, 75, bought the home in the Eighties and gifted it to Mr Moustafa, Mr Mahmud, and a third son, Yousif, who died in 2014.

The judge ruled that the proceeds of the sale of the home are split equally between the two brothers and Yousif’s estate.

He also ordered Mr Mahmud to pay his brother and father a third share each of the rental income he has pocketed since 2012, and also pay Mr Moustafa’s legal costs.

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