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The High Court heard yesterday that Sir Frederick Barclay - the billionaire owner of Brecqhou - has been evicted from his luxury flat in the UK and is relying on his nephews to fund a divorce battle with his ex-wife.
A joint approach by the Guardian, Press Association and Bloomberg News resulted in some of the reporting restrictions in the hearing being lifted.
The Guardian reports that the High Court was told that Sir Frederick, 87, has not paid any of a £100million divorce order made almost a year ago and has halved a monthly allowance of £60,000 paid to his wife of 34 years, Lady Hiroko Barclay.
He was required to pay his ex-wife £50m in August last year and another £50m in May this year. He could face a prison sentence or a hefty fine if found guilty of contempt of court for failing to pay.
It is reported that Mr Justice Jonathan Cohen adjourned the case to obtain further evidence as to Sir Frederick’s mental capacity to conduct proceedings.
The proceedings yesterday were held largely in person with only Sir Frederick attending via video link.
Pictured: The Barclay brothers bought Brecqhou for £2.3m. nearly 30 years ago.
It is reported that Sir Frederick's lawyer, Charles Howard QC, told the Court that Barclay’s daughter, Amanda, was no longer paying her father’s legal costs, which were now being funded by his nephews by way of a loan.
In May last year, Justice Cohen was highly critical of Barclay when he sold his yacht for an estimated £125m but failed to use the proceeds to pay his wife, calling it “reprehensible”.
He also said: “[Barclay] is a public figure who should have been aware of the potential consequences of disobedience of court orders and his behaviour in the proceedings should not be allowed to pass completely under the radar.”
Sir Frederick is well known in the Channel Islands after he and his late brother – Sir David Barclay – bought Brecqhou in 1993 and built a castle on it. Sir David died in January 2021.
Sir Frederick has faced various legal issues over the past two years. These have included claims that Sir David’s sons bugged one of Sir Frederick’s conversations about selling the Ritz Hotel. That dispute was settled last year and the Ritz was sold.
The twins were estimated to be worth £7billion prior to Sir David’s death.
Ex-wife calls for Brecqhou billionaire to be jailed in £50m legal fight
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Sir David Barclay dies after "short illness"
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