{"id":53210,"date":"2025-11-17T09:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/?post_type=press_releases&p=53210"},"modified":"2025-11-17T09:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:49:10","slug":"new-judgement-sloutsker-v-sloutsker-the-family-court-sends-a-clear-message-on-dishonesty-10-november-2025","status":"publish","type":"press_releases","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/press-releases\/new-judgement-sloutsker-v-sloutsker-the-family-court-sends-a-clear-message-on-dishonesty-10-november-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW JUDGEMENT: Sloutsker v Sloutsker: The Family Court Sends a Clear Message on Dishonesty. 10 November 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judgement in this case was published today and unusually for the family court it is published without anonymity, sending a clear message that the court will not tolerate dishonesty and obstruction in family proceedings.\u00a0 Those who flout the law will be named and shamed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

Family Law in Partnership acts for Alona Sloutsker in her divorce and financial claim against her former husband, Vladimir Sloutsker, a prominent former Russian senator.\u00a0The legal team at FLiP was led by David Allison and included Grace Lawrence and Rachel Wilson.\u00a0 The barrister team was led by Alexis Campbell KC with Helen Williams at 29 Bedford Row.<\/p>\n

In his judgement Mr Justice Garrido described\u00a0\u201ca lifestyle consistent with extreme wealth. The family home is a very grand: 2,790 square metres, nine bedrooms, a heated indoor pool, a massage room, a cinema room, a commercial chef\u2019s kitchen, a wine cellar, a gym, a four-car garage.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Despite this, when divorce proceedings were started the financial tap was promptly turned off. Mr Sloutsker stopped paying the mortgage and failed to comply with orders for financial disclosure and for support of his wife and their young children.\u00a0 He effectively tried to absolve himself of all responsibility for them.<\/p>\n

The Judge\u2019s Findings<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Sloutsker attempted to hide his wealth from the court and repeatedly failed to comply with orders for financial disclosure. This was litigation misconduct.<\/p>\n

Despite Mr Sloutsker\u2019s pleas of poverty, Mrs Sloutsker\u2019s legal team obtained crucial evidence via third parties and the judge found that the assets comprised \u201cthe\u00a0 family home in London valued at \u00a345m or thereabouts and\u2026\u2026 subject to borrowing of \u00a327m or \u00a328m, funds in Reyl Bank in Switzerland, some \u00a34m, a family home in Moscow valued at \u00a322m or thereabouts, a development site in Moscow to which a figure of \u00a3150m has been given, investments in US private equity in order of \u00a317m and art of various sorts valued at around \u00a34m<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was shown that Mr Sloutsker used offshore companies to distance himself from his assets and having divested himself of strict legal ownership felt no obligation to give any disclosure of the company or the assets within it.\u00a0 He also used trust structures to the same effect including in respect of the family home which the judge concluded was \u201ca structure convenient to use for tax and creditors but not to inhibit, restrict or affect Mr Sloutsker\u2019s full beneficial use of the funds or the properties acquired with those funds.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

In further attempts to put assets out of reach of his wife, Mr Sloutsker purported to gift the art and contents of the family home to his adult son from his first marriage, Mikhail Sloutsker.\u00a0 The judge found that Mr Sloutsker \u201cwas dishonest and has been dishonest when he tells me this\u201d<\/i>\u00a0and that \u201cMikhail\u2019s evidence \u2026. about the art \u2026 was full of contradiction and obfuscation\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

Outcome<\/b><\/p>\n

The judge ordered Mr Sloutsker to pay \u00a325m to his wife and to pay arrears of maintenance and legal fees of over \u00a31m by 11 September 2025.\u00a0 He also ordered Mr Sloutsker to pay child maintenance of \u00a310,000 per month for each of his daughters and to pay for their holidays and school fees.<\/p>\n

David Allison said\u00a0\u201cAs a firm, we try to keep family matters away from the public domain wherever possible, but this case required the full force of the law.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

It is not possible, nor should it be possible, for a person to absolve themselves of all responsibilities towards their family simply because they have divorced.\u00a0 The English Family Courts are clear that one spouse should not move forward in luxury whilst the other is left lacking, and divorce does not sever parental obligations.<\/i><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Mr Sloutsker\u2019s obstructive behaviour continued after trial until his death in late September \u2013 neither he nor his estate has paid a penny to his former wife and prior to his death he disappeared, cutting off all contact with his young children.\u00a0 Mikhail Sloutsker has refused to divulge anything about a Will which might benefit the young children who have been left in dire financial need.\u00a0 The fight against the estate and anyone who has benefited from it, continues\u201d.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Alexis Campbell KC, who led the cross examination said \u201cThis case illustrates how the English courts are not impressed by billionaires who say they have nothing. Money and influence will not protect dishonest litigants.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Editors Notes<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

FLiP: Family Law in Partnership<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the original London family law boutiques, FLiP is known on the one hand for representing international families in litigation and on the other for its skills in resolving disputes outside the court process.\u00a0\u00a0 The first law firm to include\u00a0solicitors,\u00a0mediators\u00a0and counsellors\u00a0under one roof, FLiP is driven to\u00a0improve outcomes for\u00a0families\u00a0as a whole.<\/p>\n

www.flip.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

David Allison<\/b>\u00a0is a director at Family Law in Partnership. He acts for a wide range of individuals including business owners, entrepreneurs, bankers, other\u00a0lawyers\u00a0and their partners. The focus of his practice is financial claims on divorce, particularly those with an international element.\u00a0 He has extensive experience in dealing with cases where jurisdiction is an issue and where often urgent steps need to be taken to secure the best jurisdiction for his clients. David is well known for his expertise in the legal issues affecting cohabitants, same sex\u00a0couples\u00a0and civil partners.<\/p>\n

www.flip.co.uk\/profiles\/david-allison<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-53210","press_releases","type-press_releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/53210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_releases"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}