The story of the Russian oligarch and the £100 million missing will continues to unfold in the media. Vladimir Alekseyevich Scherbakov, 56, died in June 2017 whilst being investigated for fraud.
The girlfriend of the tycoon is currently in a feud with his adult children and ex wife, over his missing £100 million will. The will that left most of his fortune to his current girlfriend and their children has gone astray. Ms Morina (the girlfriend) is currently accusing the adult siblings of being part of a plot to suppress the will and claims she has been blackmailed for £30 million to have the will returned! If that’s not enough Ms Morina is currently serving a jail sentence for allegedly falsifying a marriage document.
Read the full story in the Mail.
Martin Holdsworth shares his thoughts;
“This is a case worthy of a Netflix mini series! As is often the case, the probate dispute starts with basic legal principles – this time, it is the law relating to missing wills. There is a presumption that if a will has been returned to its maker and cannot then be found, then the will maker has destroyed it with the intention that it is revoked. This dispute is all about whether or not this presumption of destruction has been rebutted by the arguments and evidence put forward in support of teh suggestion that whilst the will cannot be found, the maker never intended it io be destroyed and therefore it should stand. Simple principle arguments here but the evidence in support of both sides position is far from simple – allegations of fraud, theft and even blackmail have ensued. Unusually not all the parties are represented by lawyers – some of the family members are representing themselves. Why if they clearly could afford lawyers? The tangled web is, to quote Black Adder, “the stickiest situation since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun …” Definitely worth a read!”
