Money to spend

The parties in Potanin v Potanina* were Russian nationals. They married in 1983, separated in 2007 and were divorced in Russia in 2014. They have three children together. While it was not always so, they were described by the judge as "massively rich" with a lavish lifestyle and assets which the wife asserted to be $20 billion.

Following complex and lengthy proceedings in Russia, referred to seasonally in the judgment as a "blizzard of litigation", Mrs Potanina sought permission to bring a claim in England under Part III Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 ("Part I...