Top City lawyer is cleared of assaulting his wife during row over money - as court hears she 'embellished' the details to 'gain an upper hand in the divorce'

By NOOR QURASHI, NEWS REPORTER and TONY PALMER Published: 13:34, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 13:41, 23 June 2026 A top City lawyer who lost his career after his wife accused him of assault has been cleared by a judge - after she was found to have 'embellished' the details. Solicitor Boris Telyatnikov, 42, denied grabbing the arm of pharmaceutical executive Sophie Voigt-Firon while demanding she transfer £4,000 to his account. Voigt-Firon had claimed her then-husband arrived home drunk on July 21 last year at their five-bedroom home in Surrey Lane, Battersea. But privately-educated Mr Telyatnikov, the son of former Soviet Union diplomats, was found not guilty of assault during a trial at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court last week. The court heard intimate details of the couple's troubled marriage - with District Judge Rebecca Saillet saying Voigt-Firon had previously 'lied to the defendant over the course of their relationship'. Judge Saillet said: 'She lied about having an affair, she lied about her bonus money and lied about hiring a private investigator.' Mr Telyatnikov, who now lives near Albany Mansions in Albert Bridge Road, arrived at the trial with a large entourage of legal experts and professional supporters, some of whom gave character evidence on his behalf. In January he was forced to quit his partnership with Blackfriars firm Enyo Law, which specialises in 'advising corporations and high net worth individuals in complex high-value proceedings'. Solicitor Boris Telyatnikov (pictured), 42, denied grabbing the arm of his pharmaceutical executive wife and was cleared after a trial last week Sophie Voigt-Firon (pictured) had claimed her then-husband arrived home drunk on July 21 last year at their five-bedroom home in Surrey Lane, Battersea The assault charge - which Mr Telyatnikov maintained Voigt-Firon had brought forward as a divorce tactic - also resulted in his visitation times with their privately-educated eight year-old son being restricted and supervised. He told the court: 'I was in shock and did not know how to react. 'This was made up stuff and she seemed to be doing it to gain an upper hand in the divorce.' The court heard that before the couple's marriage in 2014 Voigt-Firon had insisted on a pre-nuptial agreement. Mr Telyatnikov said: 'She was worried about her family's wealth and me having a claim on that. 'We had a substantial income. I am unemployed at the moment.' Voigt-Firon also lied that her annual £50,000 bonus had not been paid and on the evening of the row Mr Telyatnikov was demanding she pay half of the couple's £8,000 per-month mortgage, the court heard. Giving evidence behind a screen she told the trial she was home with her mother, nanny Catherine Pritchard-Gordon, with her son asleep upstairs when Mr Telyatnikov returned at 9.30pm. She claimed: 'He was unhappy to see my mother there and made a cut-throat gesture with his finger. He told my mother: "I want you out now". 'I could tell he was drunk. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and he was angry, the expression in his eyes and the tone of his voice was angry, his body language was very angry. 'He said that as we were divorcing he could not keep giving me money and I should pay half of the mortgage. 'He said: "This is my f***ing money you c***. I've spent so much f***ing money on you, you c***".' Voigt-Firon admitted the marriage had broken down and she had an affair which she was 'not proud of' - while Mr Telyatnikov had an affair with a colleague at work. She said: 'I was holding my phone, but my hand was shaking with nerves as I was fumbling trying to open the banking app, but I think he thought I was recording him and went to grab my arm. 'I dropped my phone and said: "Ouch, stop, this is hurting me and he did let go". It did hurt, it scared me, but excruciating pain? No. 'I was really scared and overwhelmed. Things got out of hand and I was worried about what would happen next, he was self-righteous in his anger.' She called the police on the insistence of her mother, with Mr Telyatnikov having already called the emergency services to have his mother-in-law removed from the property. But Christine Agnew KC, defending, asked Voigt-Firon whether she may have 'exaggerated some of the things that happened' as a 'weapon in divorce proceedings'. Voigt-Firon insisted the assault had taken place and was critical of her ex-husband's behaviour during the marriage.  She said: 'I found out via a private detective he was having an affair. 'I suspected it for many years, it was with someone at work. The detective followed Boris twice and my family told me not to give him any more money.' Mrs Pritchard-Gordon acted as a prosecution witness - though she was upstairs when the alleged assault occurred. She claimed: 'I heard the door slam and footsteps downstairs and then the shouting, the confrontation between Boris and Sophie. I heard raised voices, particularly Boris and he was demanding money. 'He definitely referred to her as a 'f***ing c***' several times. Boris sounded really angry and I was worried for the child's safety and my safety. I was scared actually. 'I heard Sophie say: 'No Boris, don't touch me', and she was visibly traumatised and pale. I thought she was going to collapse.' Mr Telyatnikov conceded the marriage was dogged by infidelity on both sides. He discovered his wife had him followed after discovering a £2,000 payment to a detective agency on a bank statement - saying that was the moment he decided on divorce. Mr Telyatnikov denied making the 'cut-throat' gesture when returning home to find his wife and mother-in-law drinking and eating pizza in front of the tv calling his former mother-in-law 'very volatile' and said he was not drunk. Judge Saillet did not accuse the wife of lying on oath, but concluded her account was 'clearly embellished'. She said: 'Mrs Voigt-Firon told the court she has not spoken to Mrs Pritchard-Gordon about the incident and that seems incredible given their close relationship and the nanny says they did talk about the incident. 'Why would he grab her wrist when she was doing what he wanted in transferring the money? 'Mr Telyatnikov gave evidence in a clear manner and denied putting hands on his wife and was consistent in what he said to police on arrest and in interview. 'He is a man of good character and this incident would have been totally out of character had it occurred in the manner explained by Mrs Voigt-Firon.' 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. 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