Russian wife's £2.85m divorce in Britain will 'open floodgates'

A Russian student has been awarded £2.8 million after an 18-month marriage in a settlement that her ex-husband’s lawyer claimed could turn Britain into the “divorce capital of the world”.
Elena Golubovich, 27, a fashion student, married Ilva Golubovich, 26, an international financier, in August 2007. The couple, both from rich Russian families, lived in a £4 million property in Kensington, west London, until they split up in July 2009.

They spent £2 million during their marriage and produced a daughter, now two, while earning nothing in the UK.

After the marriage broke down, Mr Golubovich obtained a divorce in Russia. His wife, seeking a more generous payment under British law, had it invalidated by the High Court in London, only to have that ruling overturned by the Appeal Court last July.

Mrs Golubovich still had a claim to a share of the financier’s British assets under the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act. Last August the High Court’s Family Division ordered Mr Golubovich to pay his ex-wife £2.8 million.

He challenged the decision on the grounds that it was out of proportion to the length of the marriage, that almost all of his wealth came from his parents and the English courts had no jurisdiction.

Lord Justice Thorpe, Lord Justice Etherton and Mrs Justice Baron, sitting at the Appeal Court, have upheld the award even though Mr Golubovich’s lawyer, Justine Johnston, said it would “open the floodgates” to similar cases.

The judges said the Russian divorce should stand but the couple’s life in London justified Mrs Golubovich’s claim on the financier’s British assets.

Mr Golubovich is “exiled” from the UK by an order for him to be jailed for failing to make payments ordered by the court to his ex-wife. The court described her decision to launch proceedings in the UK as “pragmatic”.

Tags: awarded produced matrimonial division