A judge has now stated that Ms Khayrova led the court on a “merry dance” in an attempt to hide assets and block her husband’s access to family bank accounts.
The couple married almost a decade ago, with the 36-year-old former model asking Russian-born businessman Tsvetkov, 42, for a divorce. Khayrova is the daughter of a noted Russian politician, while Tsvetkov is a diamond dealer who came to the UK in 2004 and was granted indefinite leave to remain. The divorce petition was filed in September 2020, and the case has only now been settled.
The reason for the delay is a complicated series of battles over the couple’s shared wealth. They have multiple properties, including a £22million mansion in Surrey, homes in London worth £18 million and several homes in Cyprus and Dubai. According to assets listed in court records, they also have millions of pounds worth of jewellery, art and cars.
Khayrova and a handbag collection worth nearly £1 million
One of the most reported-on aspects of the case was Ms Khayrova’s handbag collection, and the fact she lied about it in several court hearings.
The former model said that she had just 20 handbags, when in fact it emerged she had over 150 bags worth a total of £943,095. She apparently “downplayed the bags” and said they weren’t worth being valued.
The court was also told that Ms Khayrova filed the divorce petition in 2020 and almost immediately blocked her husband’s access to family bank accounts and credit cards. She transferred some of their shared properties in Cyprus into her mother’s name, which was taken by the court to be an attempt to keep assets out of her husband’s reach.
Ms Khayrova also managed to trick staff at high end department store Harrods to give her access to valuable jewellery and investment diamonds that were held at a safe deposit box there. Mr Tsvetkov held the keys, but his wife persuaded Harrods staff that these had been lost. She was provided with her own set of keys, accessed the safe deposit box and hid the items from evidence in the divorce case.
In an accusation made in 2021, Mr Tzvetkov also accused his wife of taking his passport and refusing to give it back.
In response to all these claims, Ms Khayrova said that her husband had managed to keep millions of pounds worth of luxury cars, jewellery and paintings.
Ruling on the case however, Mr Justice Peel said that it had been “infected by [Ms Khayrova’s] dishonesty from start to finish”. He ruled that she held the greater responsibility for what has been hugely expensive litigation, and ordered her to pay half of her husband’s £1.7 million legal bill.
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