Russian tycoon’s son did not think he ‘owned’ Rolls-Royce he bought for £346,000

A Russian billionaire’s son has told a High Court judge he had not considered himself to be the owner of a Rolls-Royce he bought for £346,000.

Temur Akhmedov, 27, has been sued by his mother Tatiana Akhmedova, after becoming embroiled in his parents’ £450 million divorce fight, and Mrs Justice Gwynneth Knowles had ordered him to disclose anything he owned worth more than £10,000.

But the judge heard that he had not originally disclosed the Rolls-Royce, or two Mercedes G Wagons – vehicles which sell for more than £100,000 – as assets in an affidavit.

He said he thought of the vehicles, which he had disclosed as assets after the trial began last week, as “family” cars, not his own cars.

Ms Akhmedova, 48, who describes herself as “Russian by origin” but lives in London, is trying to get her hands on around £450 million she is owed by businessman Farkhad Akhmedov, 65, following the breakdown of their 20-year marriage.

She has taken legal action in Britain and abroad in a bid to trace assets she says her ex-husband has tried to put beyond her reach.

Ms Akhmedova is also suing Temur Akhmedov, their eldest son, who is now a London trader.

She says he has helped his father hide assets and owes her nearly £70 million.

Temur Akhmedov denies the allegations against him and says his mother’s claim should be dismissed.

Mrs Justice Knowles is considering evidence in the dispute between mother and son at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Alan Gourgey QC, who is leading Ms Akhmedova’s legal team, told the hearing on Friday that Temur Akhmedov had paid £346,000 for the Rolls-Royce and was the “owner”.

He made the same point about the two Mercedes.

But Mr Gourgey said Temur Akhmedov had not, originally, disclosed them as assets, as he was obliged to do, in an affidavit.

Temur Akhmedov said he considered them as “family” cars.

“We don’t have this kind of thing,” said Temur Akhmedov, who, the judge has heard, was given a £29 million London flat when 19.

“‘This is your car, this is my car’.

“This is family. It’s the family’s. It’s the way we do it.”

He added: “I never thought these cars were considered to be owned, individually, by me.”

Ms Akhmedova was awarded a 41.5% share of her ex-husband’s £1 billion-plus fortune by a London judge in late 2016.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said she should receive £453 million – which lawyers said was the biggest payout of its kind.

But judges have heard that she has so far only received about £5 million and Mr Akhmedov has not voluntarily paid anything.

Mr Akhmedov says because he and his ex-wife are not British, and were not married in Britain, a British judge should not have made a decision.