The wife in Britain’s most high-profile, bitter divorce reacted with fury today after her husband was freed from jail and pictured partying with his model girlfriend in Soho.
Michelle Young hit out at the justice system for releasing him, despite the fixer to the super-rich failing to disclose the whereabouts of £400 million that has mysteriously vanished.
After tycoon Scot Young was seen at an art exhibition with girlfriend Noelle Reno, 29, Mrs Young said: “He’s still in contempt of court. How can the justice system let him take one step out of prison without him disclosing where the £400million is?
“Not only is this case a personal injustice to my daughters and me, it is also a social injustice as the taxpayer has lost out on potentially hundreds of millions of pounds.”
Mrs Young, 48, has doggedly pursued her husband since their separation in 2006, and claims to have obtained incendiary documents that prove a widespread corporate conspiracy to hide his wealth offshore.
She said: “Once the full facts of this case can be published, the establishment will be shaken to its very core. I am happy to pay my taxes and help regenerate Britain’s economy, which has been brought to its knees by secretive offshore corporate vehicles.”
Mr Young, 51 — a close associate of recently-deceased Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky — claims he was left penniless by disastrous property deals. Despite being declared bankrupt in 2010, he continued to live lavishly and told the High Court that he was being supported financially by friendly businessmen.
He was finally jailed in January after a judge ruled he had refused to reveal how £400 million apparently vanished. Mr Justice Moor jailed him for “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of court but he was freed on Monday. Mrs Young claims he enjoys a lavish lifestyle while owing at least £1 million in maintenance to her and their daughters Scarlet, 20, and Sasha, 18.
She obtained a High Court order in 2007 forbidding him to sell or move any disputed assets, but claims associates helped him to hide the cash.
Read More
Mr Young’s bankruptcy has been probed for almost two years by David Ingram at accountancy firm Grant Thornton. Some of Mr Young’s creditors are represented by offshore specialists Jirehouse Capital.
Their spokesman said: “The notion this firm has in some way sheltered Mr Young’s assets as implied in previous media articles on this topic is a fanciful inference based on meritless journalistic speculation. He is not our client.” Mr Young did not return calls.
