Dubai court dismisses oligarch's $115 million damages claim in superyacht case
Superyacht Luna has been docked at Port Rashid in Dubai for more than two years. Reuters
A Russian oligarch's claim for $115 million in damages
against his former wife after a superyacht was impounded in Dubai as part of a
costly divorce battle has been dismissed by the emirate's highest court.
The 115-metre MV Luna has been held in Dubai since February
2018 while lawyers for oil and gas tycoon Farkhad Akhmedov fought a UK court
order that transferred it to his former wife, Tatiana Akhmedova.
Mr Akhmedov and Straight Establishment - the current
registered owner of the $450 million vessel - initially brought the case
against Ms Akhmedova in January 2020.
The Dubai Court of Cassation rejected claims the arrest had
been unlawful and that there was no grounds for further claims for alleged
damages.
Mr Akhmedov had hoped to recover “loss of opportunity and
moral damages” on the basis that MV Luna could have been chartered out for the
duration of its arrest.
The claim for lost hire fees ran contrary to Straight
Establishment’s previous declarations that the vessel was not a commercial
yacht and could not be used for financial gain, said Ms Akhmedova's legal team.
“This is the latest in a string of vexatious claims by Mr
Akhmedov that have been thrown out by courts in Dubai,” said Alessandro Tricoli
of Fichte & Co, representing Ms Akhmedova.
“The decision in Dubai is a major blow to Mr Akhmedov's attempts
to evade the UK court judgement against him, and his efforts to reclaim the
Luna from Ms Akhmedova appear increasingly bleak.”
New York-based financiers, Burford Capital, provided Ms
Akhmedova with funding for her legal case in exchange for a share of up to 30
per cent of any recovery from the $586 million divorce case.
The Dubai court ordered Mr Akhmedov to pay expenses and
costs to Ms Akhmedova.
The court decision is binding and cannot be subject to
further appeal.
The future of the yacht, however, remains uncertain after
years of legal deadlock.
A spokesman for Mr Akhmedov told The National the decision
was "irrelevant" as a previous ruling had ensured his ex-wife could
not remove the luxury vessel from Dubai.
"These damages claims were filed by Mr Akhmedov and the
trust which owns the yacht as a back-up to the main legal action in
Dubai," the spokesman said.
"This was to prevent Tatiana and her backers, Burford
Capital, taking ownership of Luna. This action was successfully concluded in
August when the Court of Cassation ruled in favour of Mr Akhmedov, thus
ensuring the yacht could never be seized from Dubai by his ex-wife.
"At that point the damages claim became irrelevant.
Burford and Tatiana have not gained a penny from the rejection of damages
claims. It is a pyrrhic victory."
The yacht remains moored in Port Rashid, subject to
injunctions obtained in the Marshall Islands and England by Ms Akhmedova, which
prevent the transfer of ownership of the vessel or its removal from Dubai.
Proceedings to determine the rightful ownership of the yacht
are ongoing in the Marshall Islands.
The yacht, which has 50 crew and two helipads, was impounded
in Dubai and put into dry dock more than two years ago for the duration of the
ongoing litigation.
The couple were divorced in Moscow in the early 2000s after
years of estrangement and, in 2016, London’s High Court ordered Mr Akhmedov to
pay 40 per cent of his $1.4 billion fortune to her.
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