Ouch !! Wife wants 6 Billion in divorce settlement...

Russian fertiliser tycoon faces 'biggest divorce settlement in history' as wife seeks $6BILLION settlement

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:36 PM on 16th November 2010

• 79th richest person in the world in bid to keep proceedings secret

Split: Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev is facing a $6bn divorce demand from wife Elena

A Russian billionaire is fighting what could end up being the biggest divorce settlement in history - but he doesn't want anyone to know about it.

Dmitry Rybolovlev's wife Elena is demanding $6 billion from the man known as the 'fertilizer king' for a fortune amassed in potash mining that made him the world's 79th richest person.

But Rybolovlev says he may sue any media outlet that reports the case because it is being heard by a Geneva civil court, where privacy restrictions are tighter than for criminal or commercial proceedings. 

'What we have done is a general sprinkling of the press landscape,' said Anne Reiser, a Geneva lawyer who wrote to Swiss and international media on Rybolovlev's behalf last week.

Printing details about a divorce case could be a criminal offence in Switzerland, said Reiser.

The fact that Rybolovlev, who made his billions with the Uralkali mining company, was recently named one of the richest people on the planet by Forbes magazine and made headlines when he bought Donald Trump's Palm Beach mansion for $100 million doesn't justify stories about his divorce, according to Reiser.

'In case you have planned to do it, please refrain,' she added. 'That's all. And there is a please.'

However, there was a warning for those who fail to heed her advice.

'If by any chance you are going to print anything about my client, then you are formally put on notice that my client reserves his right, maybe, to do something about it, with any legal action that would be necessary,' said Reiser.

Manuel Bianchi della Porta, a practicing lawyer at Geneva firm BCCC, questioned the purpose of the letter. 'I think it's fair to say that it is an unusual pre-emptive strike,' he said.

Big deal: Donald Trump sold his $100m Palm Beach mansion to Dmitry Rybolovlev

Swiss courts recognise that some cases are of public interest and therefore deserve to be covered by the media, though the wealth of the parties involved wouldn't itself be sufficient grounds to limit their right to privacy.

Reiser's letter to the press was prompted by an article in Geneva's respected Le Temps newspaper, which delved deep into the billionaire's business dealings, his private life, and the points at which the two converge.

Its author alleges that Rybolovlev, who is in his early 40s, transferred much of his wealth to a trust in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus shortly after his wife announced that she was seeking a divorce.

Her lawyer, Marc Bonnant, says the question of who controls the trust is key to the divorce proceedings and will make the difference between a pay-out of $1 billion, or more than $6 billion.

A Geneva court has provisionally frozen Rybolovlev's assets in Switzerland and abroad, but because an appeal is pending before the Swiss Supreme Court that order is still unenforceable.

Even if the appeal is rejected, it may be difficult for Elena Rybolovlev to obtain the money, as Switzerland has no treaty on legal aid with Cyprus.

Reiser declined to comment on the case, citing professional confidentiality.

'My client is entitled to a lot of things in case his name, his reputation, is not treated correctly,' she said. 

'He can do a lot of things. He can, he'd rather not.'

Serge Michel, assistant chief editor of Le Temps, said threats of legal action wouldn't stop his newspaper from continuing to report the story.

'I think it's not just a private case, part of it concerns the public,' he said, citing the large sum involved and claims that workers on an unfinished mansion in one of Geneva's poshest suburbs are owed millions of dollars because of legal wrangling in the case.

Press freedom in Switzerland 'is better than in Russia,' said Michel. 'But here there's an attempt to exert pressure, that's clear. That's not going to stop us, but we do think this letter is unusual and questionable.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330129/Russian-billionaire-set-hit-biggest-divorce-case-history.html#ixzz15SCuzrpW