Texan tycoon Preston Haskell must pay his ex-wife Alesia Vladimirovna £50,000 in court battle or be jailed next time he comes to the UK
- Preston Haskell’s failure to pay the sum to his ex was a breach of a court order
- He must pay the £50,000 sum of money to Alesia Vladimirovna or face jail
- His lawyers have indicated he will pay the sum so he can see his kids in the UK
A foreign businessman who was embroiled in a fight over money with his ex-wife in London has been told by a High Court judge that he must pay her what he owes this month to avoid arrest on his return to England.
In May 2021, a judge ruled that Preston Haskell IV’s failure to pay £50,000 to former model Alesia Vladimirovna Haskell, who lives in London, was in breach of a court order.
Mr Justice Moor concluded, following a hearing in Family Division of the High Court, that Mr Haskell was in contempt of court and imposed a six-week prison sentence.
A lawyer representing Mr Haskell, who lives abroad, on Monday told another judge that his client was willing to pay the £50,000 and wanted to travel to England to see his children
Texan millionaire Preston Haskell (left with model Petra Nemcova at a charity ball in New York in 2010) has been told he must pay his ex wife Alesia Vladimirovna Haskell (right) £50,000 after becoming embroiled in a contempt of court row
But Adam Tear told Mr Justice Cohen said Mr Haskell, 56, feared arrest and imprisonment on arrival.
Mr Justice Cohen said Mr Haskell must pay the £50,000 within seven days if he wanted to avoid arrest and imprisonment.
He said if the money was paid by January 24, he would relax orders requiring Mr Haskell to be apprehended on arrival in England.
The judge also said Mr Haskell must notify Ms Haskell, 41, of the dates of any visit and hand his passport to a lawyer while in Britain.
Another judge had ruled on the pair’s fight over money in February 2020.
Mr Justice Mostyn had said Mr Haskell tried to impose a ‘syndrome of control’ over Ms Haskell.
He concluded that Ms Haskell, who comes from Belarus, needed around £5 million and ordered Mr Haskell to hand over that amount in instalments.
Mr Haskell’s ex-wife is pictured posing in an Instagram post at the mogul’s villa in Cape Town
Haskell and his ex-wife enjoyed a luxury lifestyle during their 13-year marriage where they enjoyed membership of the exclusive 5 Hertford Street club (pictured)
Haskell has assets and business interested around the world including a South African winery and a ‘magnificent’ £6.5million villa in Cape Town (pictured), and a villa in Johannesburg
Ms Haskell says Mr Haskell has failed to pay a first instalment of £50,000, as ordered.
Mr Justice Mostyn said the marriage had been blighted by Mr Haskell’s ‘serial infidelity and abuse of cocaine and alcohol’.
Mr Haskell had told Mr Justice Mostyn that he was ‘not a man of poverty’ but ‘a man suffering liquidity and cash-flow problems’ during a period of transition in his business activities.
Judges have heard how the Haskells had lived together for more than a decade and have three children.
They have heard that Mr Haskell’s American father was ‘exceptionally wealthy’.
Mr Haskell had renounced his United States citizenship and become a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis, and Sweden.
The billionaire property magnate, his tycoon son and their family empire…and a bid for a Coventry football club
Preston Haskell III is the founder and chairman of the largest privately-held construction business in in Florida
Texan multimillionaire Preston Haskell IV, son of Florida construction mogul Preston Haskell III, earned a degree in economics at the University of Southern California.
He then moved to Russia where in 1992 he started the Haskell International Group working in property.
Although the company initially dealt with real estate investment and property management by 1997 it operated restaurants and a furniture manufacturing company.
He bought a 57-acre vineyard in 2002 in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town in South Africa and turned it into a winery, restaurant and guest accommodation under the name Haskell Vineyards.
In 2003 he met his future wife Alesia in Moscow and the pair got married in 2008.
They moved to London where they had a rented £3.3million apartment in Sloane Street.
And Mr Haskell came to the attention of the British public in 2013 when he put in an unsuccessful buyout bid for Coventry City FC and their stadium, the Ricoh Arena.
At the time Mr Haskell said: ‘The agreement is on condition that I am allowed to purchase Coventry City once the administration process is completed.’
And he was spotted getting on a private jet with football executive Ken Bates who had a hand in the development of Wembley Stadium.
Mr Bates purchased Chelsea FC for just £1 in 1982. He then sold the club for £18million to Roman Abramovic in 2003.
He went on to become honorary president of Leeds United but was fired in 2013, allegedly over a dispute about payment for his private jet.
A judge found that Mr Haskell’s finances were ‘opaque’ and noted the string of businesses and properties he owns – or is linked to – around the world.
These included a South African winery and a ‘magnificent’ £6.5million villa in Cape Town, plus another high-end villa in Johannesburg.
‘The villa in Cape Town is an outstanding property with views over the ocean,’ added the judge.
Mr Haskell had complained that he was in a dire financial position and was unable to get his hands on cash, telling the judge: ‘I have no money at all.’
The real estate boss – once reputedly worth £160million – claimed to have ‘liabilities’ of £50million and to be struggling to meet his maintenance commitments.
However, Mr Justice Mostyn decided Mr Haskell could get his hands on sufficient funds to pay his ex £5.8million to conclude their divorce.
Other overseas interests include a stake in a Swedish gold exploration company, part of a building in Kiev, land in Crimea, part of a business in Romania, and an elegant property in the Swedish Archipelago complete with a motor yacht.
He also highlighted social media posts from Mr Haskell in which he was shown speaking about his ‘beautiful year’ and posing with a £400 bottle of vintage red wine.
The claim Mr Haskell has ‘no money’ has however been disputed by his ex-wife’s barrister, Alexander Knight, who told a judge he still has access to ‘substantial sums’, including a trust fund valued at around £22million.
The High Court heard that Mr Haskell had renounced his United States citizenship and become a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis, and Sweden.
However it is believed Mr Haskell has been in the USA during parts of the High Court hearing and Appeal case.
Mr Haskell’s father, born in Birmingham, Alabama, is the founder and chairman of the largest privately-held construction business in in Florida – The Haskell Company.
He was also a minority owner of the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars.
After graduating in 1956 from Indian Springs School, he went to Princeton and received a civil engineering degree with honours in 1960 before going on to receive an MBA with distinction from Harvard in 1962 and attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It was after he left MIT and started working at S.S. Jacobs Company that he was encouraged to break out on his own and create the Preston H. Haskell Company.
The business got its first project in 1965 and successfully designed and built a $1million apartment complex at Atlantic Beach.
The company steadily grew and is today recognised as one of the top firms in the US.
Mr Haskell received the Engineering News Record Southeast’s 2020 Legacy Award.
Source: Read Full Article
