Russian oligarch with secret second family is ordered to pay £100million to his ex-wife

Published: 00:36, 24 April 2026 | Updated: 00:36, 24 April 2026 A Russian oligarch who had a secret second family has been ordered to hand over £100million in cash and houses to his ex–wife. Mikhail Kroupeev, a naturalised British citizen, married Elena Kroupeeva in Russia in 1988 and they moved to the UK in 1993. But their marriage fell apart in 2023 when Ms Kroupeeva discovered her husband had another wife and child in Russia. The child was born around 2008. The couple, who have two children, have been in dispute over finances since 2024, pending their divorce.  In June last year, a court heard Mr Kroupeev's business empire included a company with a 'contract to export oil from Syria... worth $1.5–2billion dollars', and a firm that exported oil and gas in Kazakhstan.  He had refused to allow them to be valued, and was sentenced to 28 days in prison for contempt of court. At a four–day High Court hearing in February, lawyers for Ms Kroupeeva asked a judge to order that she be given the former marital home, a seven– bedroom property in St John's Wood, London, worth around £14.4million, properties in Russia and Portugal worth a combined £26million, and lump sums totalling £32.1million. Mr Kroupeev, who represented himself via video, argued that while the properties could be transferred, he should have to pay only £300,000. Deputy High Court Judge James Ewins KC ordered Mr Kroupeev to pay £60 million to his wife and transfer to her the properties in London, Portugal and Russia The court heard Mr Kroupeev's business empire included a company with a 'contract to export oil from Syria worth $1.5–2billion dollars' In a ruling published yesterday, Judge James Ewins KC ordered Mr Kroupeev to pay £60million and transfer the three properties. In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Ewins said that Mr Kroupeev's involvement in the case had been 'significantly tainted by his ongoing breach of various court orders', which remained ongoing at the time of the hearing in February.  The judge said that during their 35–year marriage, the pair 'enjoyed an exceptionally high standard of living', including living in a seven–bedroom house with their two children in St John's Wood, London, and properties in Portugal, Turkey and Russia. The family went on several holidays via private jet, including an annual Christmas trip to Mustique in a £200,000 villa, with Ms Kroupeeva going on twice–yearly shopping trips to Milan and Mr Kroupeev owning collections of wine, watches and guns. Judge Ewins also said that Ms Kroupeeva claimed that while she previously had access to around £40,000 a month, this was 'terminated' by late 2024 after the breakdown of the marriage. Mr Kroupeev claimed that he had 'limited liquid funds' but the judge said the businessman had spent over £523,000 on his American Express credit card between October 2024 and September 2025 and had paid for education for his 'second family'. The exterior of the Royal Courts of Justice in London, United Kingdom. The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in London which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales The judge continued that Ms Kroupeeva's evidence was 'coherent and consistent' but said Mr Kroupeev's evidence was 'profoundly unsatisfactory and lacking credibility'. He said: 'His repeated apologies proffered during his oral evidence, whilst superficially reasonable, rang hollow when considered in the context of his repeated and ongoing contempt of court.' The judge said that £100.6m worth of assets being transferred to Ms Kroupeeva was 'affordable' for Mr Kroupeev, adding that this 'requires him to liquidate a fraction of his available financial resources'. In a statement distributed by her law firm, Payne Hicks Beach, Mrs Kroupeeva said she was 'delighted' with the ruling following 'a period of troubling insecurity'. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.