TWO Russian businessman locked in a billion-dollar court battle are fighting for a £300million mansion which boasts a subterranean village.
Alexander Gorbachev is suing Putin crony Andrey Guryev over claims he’s owed shares in a Russian fertiliser giant.
8
8
8
Gorbachev, no relation to ex-Soviet leader Mikhail, says he lost a fortune in PhosAgro after he fled to Britain in 2005.
He says he was offered only £23 million for his share of the business, which he rejected, before Guryev, his ex-business partner, told him he was not entitled to anything.
The case reached a Dubai court this week and could see 65-room Witanhurst estate ripped from Guryev if he loses, The Times reports.
The mega pile in Highgate, North London, boasts 25 bedrooms and is the second largest house in the capital after Buckingham Palace.
Read More on oligarchs
According to the New Yorker, an “underground village” lies underneath the home, featuring a 70ft pool, two-tier cinema, massage rooms.
A sauna, gym, staff quarters and parking for 25 cars also features in the home which was the backdrop for 90s show BBC Fame Academy, a short-lived spin off of ITVs Pop Idol.
David Sneddon, a winner of the show, now writes songs for Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi and Louis Tomlinson.
The subterranean complex at Witanhurst – once owned by Syria’s ruling Al-Assad family – was signed off over a decade ago by Camden borough council.
Most read in Money
The house also has living rooms, a kitchen and a media centre, with direct access to the underground village.
Guryev, who is worth £2.6 billion, is also said to own a penthouse apartment in Vauxhall near the MI6 headquarters.
Because the Russian is sanctioned in the UK, a High Court judge will travel to the United Arab Emirates to take evidence from him.
Guryev shot to prominence last year after the government of Antigua and Barbuda put his super yacht up for auction after it was abandoned there following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt tried to buy the 267ft Alfa Nero for £54 million.
But his offer fell through after Guryev’s daughter Yulia Gurieva-Motlokhov claimed the boat, which sleeps 12 and contains a swimming pool that turns into a helipad, was hers.
8
8
8
8
8
