A Swedish businesswoman has to pay her ex-husband more than £6.5 million, even though he could go to jail for not telling the court about his own funds.
Louise Backstrom and Martin Wennberg are both Swedish but live in England. After their six-year marriage ended, they went to a private family court in London to argue about money.
Mr. Wennberg wanted more than £40 million in money, but Deputy High Court Judge Leslie Samuels decided against him.
But Judge Samuels said that Ms. Backstrom’s “housing fund” offer of £6.5 million was in line with a premarital deal and should be given “full weight.”
The judge also said that Ms. Backstrom should give Mr. Wennberg about £60,000 a year for the next six years to meet his “income needs.”
The judge found that Ms. Backstrom, who was 33, had about £250 million in assets and that Mr. Wennberg, who was 39, had about £2 million in assets.
The businesswoman, who the court heard was the head of the Biltema Foundation and a minority shareholder in a family business called Birgma Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, was ordered to pay her ex-husband millions of dollars even though he had broken orders to give financial information.
The judge said that Mr. Wennberg “did not file any evidence” and “did not say anything about his financial situation.”
If he doesn’t follow the order, he could go to jail.
At a recent private trial, Judge Samuels, who is in charge of the Family Division of the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice, looked at the evidence.
He has written down his findings and named the people who were involved.
“They met in Stockholm in March 2012 and started dating,” the judge said.
“When they met, the woman was in school and the man was selling expensive watches.”
He said that they moved in together in 2014, got married in 2015, and broke up in 2021.
“From any point of view, this family had a very high standard of living before the marriage broke up,” the judge said.
“The parties enjoyed having high-value London homes, staff, expensive vacations, endless travel options, and the best that money can buy.”
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Breaking the Rules is Clear and Obvious
In March, when Ms. Backstrom said that Mr. Wennberg had broken court orders made during the disagreement and was in contempt, we learned more about the case.
She asked a different judge to send her to jail.
At a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London, where Ms. Backstrom’s contempt complaint was heard, Mr. Justice Peel found that Mr. Wennberg had broken earlier court orders.
During that hearing, Ms. Backstrom told the court that she thought her ex-husband’s “failure to engage” and “attempts to delay matters” were a “calculated and deliberate” way to fight the case.
Mr. Wennberg’s “lack of compliance” with court orders was “egregious,” Ms. Backstrom’s lawyer told Mr. Justice Peel.
“Not only has the husband not given the paperwork as asked, but he has also given no reason why,” Michael Glaser KC said.
“The violations are clear and obvious, so they need to be punished as such.”
Later this year, a judge is going to decide on a sentence.
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