Hughes Fowler Carruthers is acting for Natalia Potanina, the former wife of Vladimir Potanin, in the Supreme Court.

The wife received less than 1% of the immense wealth that had been built up entirely during the parties’ long marriage. She brought a claim in the English courts for financial relief after an overseas divorce and was unsuccessful at first instance, but won overwhelmingly in the Court of Appeal. The husband now appeals to the Supreme Court.

This is a landmark case on the application and procedure of Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, which entitles the party to make a claim in England notwithstanding the existence of a foreign divorce.

The HFC team is led by Frances Hughes, and comprises Bryan Jones, Sarah Walker and Rica Lee. Charles Howard KC, Deepak Nagpal KC and Jennifer Palmer of 1 King’s Bench Walk are the instructed counsel.

Potanina (Respondent) v Potanin (Appellant) was heard before the Supreme Court from 31 October – 1 November 2023. Judgment is reserved.

This case has garnered significant media attention, including most recently in the Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Independent and Fortune.