The estranged wife of jailed property developer Scot Young has pledged to bring private prosecutions against the bankers she believes helped him to hide his fortune.
Michelle Young told the Evening Standard:
“We are going to bring in private prosecutions on the criminal conspiracy for all the people involved. It is a big list.”
She believes he had hidden as much as £2 billion in offshore companies, claiming: “We can prove that forensically now. It is big business behind this. It is not just a divorce. It involves offshore companies registered in tax havens. This money should be going into the economy.”
Earlier this week, Mr Young was jailed for six months after being found guilty of “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of court after failing to provide court-ordered financial details.
When the couple separated in 2006 after 11 years of marriage, Mr Young was worth an estimated £400 million. The developer was ordered to pay £27,500 a month in maintenance but has reportedly not done so and now claims to be bankrupt and reliant on handouts following a failed property deal in Moscow.
Despite these claims, barrister Edward Fitzgerald QC, acting for Mrs Young, said the developer was living a lifestyle “consistent with considerable wealth”.
“He is going from party to party with champagne glass in his hand and his current girlfriend, some supermodel or other, on his arm.”
According to the Standard, funding from wealthy backers has allowed Mrs Young to pursue her former husband through the courts for several years.. She recently hired private detectives to track his movements.
The former couple have two daughters.
She says “It is not just a divorce”, well, it certainly isn’t. But, perhaps it should be.
I.e. People shouldn’t have to wash their dirty laundry in public as part of divorce. To clarify my earlier comment.