Farkhad Akhmedov has just lost Luna, a R5,9 billion superyacht which was commissioned by Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich.

It’s a beauty, the yacht.

At 377 ft, it has 10 VIP guest cabins, a 20-metre outdoor swimming pool, nine decks, a mini-submarine and a full crew of 50.

But now, the UK’s Justice Charles Haddon-Cave has ruled that Luna should be transferred to Akhmedov’s ex-wife, Tatyana Akhmedova [below], as an unprecedented R7,6 billion divorce settlement, reports The Telegraph.

That makes it Britain’s biggest divorce case, if you wanted to keep score.

It will be given to her as part of the divorce payout, with Haddon-Cave declaring that the 61-year-old Russian billionaire has been attempting to “evade enforcement” of an earlier court decision to give 41% of his fortune to his ex-wife:

In a statement issued after the ruling lawyers for Ms Akhmedova said: “Mr Akhmedov has employed a series of evasive and underhand tactics aimed at frustrating attempts to enforce the judgment made by the English Court against him.

Back to Luna:

It is the 23rd largest luxury yacht in the world and also has two helipads, a spa and a gym. According to a written judgment published on Thursday, the yacht sailed into Dubai in October last year and has since been in a dry dock for maintenance.

This may have been because [Mr Akhmedov] assumed that Dubai was well beyond the reach of an English Court judgment,” the judgment added. The oligarch has conducted an “elaborate and contumacious campaign to evade and frustrate the enforcement of the Judgment debt against him,” the judge said.

The yacht has been transferred to the ownership of a company, in an “attempt by [Mr Akhmedov] to evade enforcement,” he added.

It is currently “effectively impounded” in Port Rashid under court order after the company’s assets were frozen.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Akhmedov [above] said that the case should never have been brought before an English court:

He added: “Like the previous matrimonial award, it lacks any legal validity.

“It will have no bearing on the appeal hearing which the DIFC [Dubai International Finance Centre] has properly granted to the family trust which owns the Luna.

“This will be heard next month. Any idea that the yacht can be sold or handed over to Mrs Akhmedova is fanciful.

“For that to happen – by the time all legal procedures were exhausted – would take years.

‘By then the yacht could have depreciated to such an extent that, even if Tatiana was ultimately victorious, it would be a completely hollow victory since the vessel could by then only be sold for scrap.”

And that, my friends, it why you don’t get married. Or do. Whichever keeps your superyacht afloat.

[source:telegraph]