UK Court Allows Ex-Wife Multi-Billion-Dollar Claim Against Russian Oligarch Potanin

Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, one of the richest men in Russia and CEO of Norilsk Nickel, is facing a high-value divorce claim in England from his ex-wife Natalia Potanina, who seeks a multi-billion-dollar share of his wealth. Potanina, who was married to Potanin for about 30 years before their 2014 divorce in Russia, argues that the Russian court’s financial settlement was insufficient, awarding her less than 1% of their total assets, and is now pursuing financial relief in the English courts where she has resided since 2016. The Court of Appeal in London recently ruled in her favor, allowing her to claim 50% of Potanin's beneficial interest in his shares in Nornickel, dividends since 2014, and a luxury Russian property, rejecting previous rulings that dismissed her case due to lack of connection to the UK. The court recognized Potanina’s substantial ties to England and noted the significant disparity between the financial awards in Russia and what would be fair under English law, underscoring the case’s potential to be one of the largest divorce settlements ever. Potanin, who is currently sanctioned by multiple countries including the UK and the US following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has opposed the claim, but the legal battle has continued in the UK courts since 2019. This ruling marks a critical development in the ongoing dispute, reflecting both the complexity of cross-border divorce cases involving vast wealth and the use of English courts in high-stakes financial claims.