The richest man in Russia is called in court by his ex-wife, who accuses him of being mischievous and asks for half his wealth

The ex -wife of Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, the richest man in Russia, asked on a London Court of Appeal on Tuesday to allow him to claim several billion dollars from his participation in Nornickel, in one of the largest divorce processes, Reuters reports.

Potanin is the general manager and largest shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest Paladiu producer and an important refined nickel producer.

With an estimated fortune last month at $ 31.7 billion, he is the richest man in Russia, enriching nearly $ 4 billion just this year, as The Moscow Times shows.

Natalina Potanina's lawyers, his ex -wife, announced on Tuesday that she wants to submit a financial compensation request following their divorce completed in 2014. Among other things, she asks for 50% of the value of the participation held by her ex -husband in Nornickel shares.

Potanin owns about 39% of Nornickel through his internal holding, a participation currently evaluated at $ 9.4 billion, according to LSEG data.

Potanina also requires 50% of any dividends collected by Potanin since 2014, as well as a luxury property in Russia, which the two spent about $ 150 million during the period they were married.

The ex -wife of the oligarch claims he received a very small part of his wealth

Her lawyers claim that, after the divorce, she received only $ 41.5 million – that is less than 1% of the total wealth of the couple – and that she is entitled to “a fair part of the goods accumulated during the marriage”.

Potanin's lawyers claim instead that his ex -wife received about $ 84 million and argues that her claims should be rejected, as the couple had nothing to do with the United Kingdom.

Potanin's lawyer, Edward Faulks, said in the documents filed in court that “Mrs. Potanina's first contact with England and Wales, after the marriage was dismantled, was to contact lawyers from the United Kingdom specialized in divorces”.

England and Wales have long been considered a favorable jurisdiction for less wealthy partners, the courts frequently grant them compensation of the order of hundreds of millions of pounds.

But the High Court of London rejected another request for Potanina to initiate a trial, a judge stating that if her request was accepted, “there would be no limit to divorce tourism.”

The case later reached the Supreme Court of Great Britain, who returned to the Court of Appeal to decide whether the request for potanine can go further.