The High Court in London has granted Russian oligarch Georgy Bedzhamov permission to sell a Belgravia mansion to a property development company despite it being the subject of a worldwide freezing order.
The mansion, situated at 17 Belgrave Square and 17 Belgrave Square Mews, is valued at £35m in its current state of disrepair, according to the judgment handed down today (16 June). However, the ruling says that when renovated it could be valued at upwards of £76m.
Bedzhamov has been marketing the property with the permission of the court for some time, and has already secured permission in principle to sell the property. Even so, various proposals have fallen though or taken longer than expected to negotiate, and he needed court approval to allow the sale to take place.
According to the ruling, Bedzhamov will use his share of the proceeds for living expenses and to pay his legal fees.
Insolvent Russian bank Vneshprombank is suing Bedzhamov, alleging fraud. The bank secured a freezing order against his assets in 2019. The order allows him to spend £240,000 a month on living expenses.
Vneshprombank is one of Russia’s largest banking collapses. The bank fell into insolvency in 2016 when regulators uncovered a £2.5bn hole in its balance sheet. Bedzhamov fled Russia for Monaco, and later relocated to London.
Vneshprombank LLC v Georgy Ivanovich Bedzhamov
and
Lyubov Kireeva (as bankruptcy trustee of Georgy Bedzhamov) v Georgy Ivanovich Bedzhamov
[2023] EWHC 1459 (Ch)
Business and Property Courts (Mr Justice Miles and Master Kaye) 16 June 2023
