Businessman Scot Young hid £40m from estranged wife, judge rules

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/nov/22/scot-young-estranged-wife-judge

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A businessman at the centre of protracted divorce hid £40m from his estranged wife and the high court, a judge has ruled.

Mr Justice Moor ordered that Scot Young's wife, Michelle, should be given £20m, half his assets.

The ruling is the culmination of a bitter legal battle over Scot Young's disappearing fortune. Michelle Young had claimed it amounted to "a few billion" pounds. She has said she is a victim of fraud because he has manipulated his affairs so as to deprive her of a fair share.

The judgment states that Scot Young, 51, hid a total of £45m but the judge set £5m of that aside to cover his debts.

The ruling said: "I can see no reason why the husband should not pay the lump sum quickly, given that half the money he had in 2006 was held in shares which would have been readily realisable." He has been given 28 days to pay.

Scot Young has already served six months in prison for contempt of court after refusing to reveal his assets.

Moor said he had rejected "the more fanciful allegations" made against Scot Young.

"I cannot see how he would have complied with an order for a lump sum of £300m, let alone £400m."

In a prepared statement handed out to reporters outside court, Michelle Young said: "This has been a desperate struggle for me and my two daughters, cast adrift seven years ago by a powerful maniac who felt he could could hide his vast wealth behind his super-rich friends."

Moor said: "The husband has not complied with court orders. He has … not made any reasonable offer to settle the proceedings. He has been found to have misled the court as to his finances to a very significant extent. On the other hand, the wife has raised issues that I have found to be completely unfounded."

But the judge said he was returning Scot Young's passport because it would not be reasonable to withhold it any longer.

Last week, it emerged that the retail tycoon Sir Philip Green loaned Scot Young £80,000 to help him purchase a family apartment and had never been given the money back.

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