Russian oligarch at centre of UK's biggest divorce has £5m helicopter seized by bailiffs in Turkey and sold with the cash going to his ex-wife

  • Farkhad Akhmedov is fighting a bitter divorce battle with former wife, Tatiana 
  • High Court in the UK ordered him to pay Tatiana £453m half of his £1bn fortune
  • Akhmedov refuses to recognise the British divorce court ruling and hasn't given over a penny of the settlement 
  • Billionaire had £300m superyacht seized in Dubai as pair fight over ownership
  • Now his helicopter has been sold for £5m after being confiscated in Turkey and flown to the Isle of Man

A Russian billionaire embroiled in Britain's costliest divorce has had his £5m helicopter seized and sold with the money going to his ex-wife.

Bailiffs acting for Tatiana Akhmedova took control of the Eurocopter when it landed in Turkey.

Her ex husband Farkhad Akhmedov, 62, had used the six seat chopper to fly from his £300m super yacht Luna which is at the centre of an extraordinary tug of war between the couple.

The helicopter was seized as part of a High Court order that all assets belonging to the oligarch be sold until he pays his wife half his share of his estimated £1bn fortune.

Two years ago a court ruled 42-year-old Tatiana was entitled to £453m.

Akhmedov, who made his fortune in oil and gas, has refused to recognise the British divorce court ruling and refused to hand over a penny of the settlement.

Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, embroiled in Britain's costliest divorce, has had his £5m helicopter (pictured) seized and sold with the money going to his ex-wife

Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, embroiled in Britain's costliest divorce, has had his £5m helicopter (pictured) seized and sold with the money going to his ex-wife

Akhmedov (pictured), who made his money in oil and gas, is fighting a High Court order to award his ex-wife Tatiana £453m of his £1bn fortune, insisting they are already divorced

Akhmedov (pictured), who made his money in oil and gas, is fighting a High Court order to award his ex-wife Tatiana £453m of his £1bn fortune, insisting they are already divorced

Akhmedov's ex-wife Tatiana (above) had successfully won a freezing order on his worldwide assets after he refused to pay her half his £1bn fortune. She planned to sell the yacht and keep the proceeds ¿ with her ex vowing to sell it for scrap rather than relinquish control

Akhmedov's ex-wife Tatiana (above) successfully won a freezing order on his worldwide assets after he refused to pay her the sum awarded by the court. As a result of the court order her ex-husband's helicopter was seized in Turkey and sold with money going to Tatiana

He claims he divorced his wife in Russia over a decade ago and the British court judgement is invalid.

His prize asset, the super yacht Luna, is being held in Dubai while lawyers wrangle over who has ownership.

Lawyers for mum-of-two Tatiana said the sale of the helicopter was a sign that the financial net was slowly closing in on the oligarch.

'The net has been closing on Mr Akhmedov for a while now, and the sale of the helicopter proves that our enforcement methods are not just working but bearing fruit,' sad Jonathan Wild from Isle of Man based law firm Callin Wild.

'We have a long way to go until the full judgment debt is satisfied but we move closer to seizing and beginning to liquidate the remaining assets everyday.'

The Eurocopter EC155 was seized earlier this year in a complex operation when it landed at an airport near Bodrum in Turkey.

The businessman had insisted he had given Tatiana ownership of the family's £20m Surrey home (above) and an art collection worth more than £30m

Mr Akhmedov says he has given millions to his ex-wife so she can still live in luxury. Tatiana, a British citizen, was given the family's £20m Surrey home (pictured) and a £30m art collection

A spokesman for Tatiana said they are examining the court ruling and claimed he would not be able to sail away in the yacht: 'For now, nothing material will change and importantly Luna will remain in Port Rashid under arrest'

While they were together, the Akhmedov's lived a life of luxury flying around the world to their various mansions in a private jet (pictured) with an army of domestic staff in tow 

Ballifs acting for the billionaire's ex wife instructed the pilots to fly the chopper into nearby Greek airspace before flying back to the Isle of Man. The helicopter was sold for just under £5m.

Other assets belonging the Akhmedov that have been seized include a private jet and motor yacht.

Lawyers for the couple are engaged in a long and costly legal battle to gain control of the mega yacht Luna.

Akhmedov has vowed to sell it for scrap rather than hand control to his ex-wife.

Luna, a mega yacht built for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich before Akhmedov bought it in 2014, has at least nine decks, space for 50 crew, two helipads, a vast swimming pool and a mini submarine.

Since the beginning of the year it has been impounded in Dubai.

A spokesman for Akhmedov said the net value of the helicopter was 'negligible' in the context of the sums his former wife had spent on legal actions around the world. 

In 2014, Mr Akhmedov bought a 377ft super-yacht called Luna (pictured) for an eye-watering £300million

As a result of the High Court's ruling, Mr Akhmedov had his £300m superyacht (pictured) -once owned by friend Roman Abramovich - seized in Dubai as the pair argue over ownership 

As one of the world's super yachts, the 115m boat called 'Luna' boasts a 20-metre outdoor swimming pool (above), a helicopter landing pad and a mini-submarine 

As one of the world's super yachts, the 115m boat called 'Luna' boasts a 20-metre outdoor swimming pool (above), a helicopter landing pad and a mini-submarine 

'The sale of this helicopter amounts to little more than small change for Tatiana and her backers Burford Capital in comparison with the many millions invested in their legal actions around the world,' they said.

'Since the helicopter had been in the UK for some considerable time, this outcome is completely unsurprising. 

'There is very little equity in its sale and its net value is to Tatiana’s legal and financial backers is negligible. Meanwhile, Mr Akhmedov and the Akhmedov family trust remain confident that their legal efforts will continue to be successful in preventing the seizure of any meaningful assets. 

'Those assets are for the benefit of the whole family and Mr Alkhmedov’s dependents, not simply for one greedy ex-wife.

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