Potanina Natalya Nikolaevna

Potanina Natalya Nikolaevna

Natalya Potanina is the ex-wife of Interros President Vladimir Potanin.

Biography

2013: Beginning of divorce from husband

In December 2013, it became known that Vladimir Potanin decided to divorce his wife Natalia. He filed a lawsuit for divorce in the magistrate's court of the Presnensky district of Moscow. "Their marriage is over," a businessman's representative confirmed to Izvestia. Natalya Potanina herself does not agree to a divorce, Interfax reported, citing its sources.

Forbes magazine estimates Vladimir Potanin's fortune at $14.3 billion (in the ranking of the richest Russians in 2012, he took seventh place). Through his investment company Interros, Potanin owns about 30.3% of Norilsk Nickel (another 0.103% of the nickel company belongs to Potanin directly). The businessman also owns the cinema chain Cinema Park, the development company ProfEstate, which is engaged in construction. The businessman also owns the Anastasia superyacht worth $155 million.

Under Russian law, jointly acquired property is divided equally between spouses, except when there is a marriage contract, recalls Alina Topornina, a lawyer at Yukov & Partners.

Whether Potanins have a marriage contract, the representative of the businessman did not tell Izvestia. But if half of the billionaire's fortune really goes to his wife, Natalya Potanina will receive money and assets in the amount of $7 billion and become the richest woman in Russia. Now this honorary title is held by Elena Baturina with a fortune of $1.1 billion. Vladimir Potanin himself in the ranking of the rich will miss ahead, among other colleagues in Norilsk Nickel, Roman Abramovich ($10.2 billion) and Oleg Deripaska ($8.5 billion) and, together with his ex-wife, will close the first twenty Forbes.

According to a Izvestia source close to Potanin, the divorce will be peaceful and there will be no division of property. But if the spouses nevertheless begin to share assets in court, the trial will be held in Russia. Natalya Potanina will be able to fight for part of Interros in a Russian court, explains Vladimir Pleshakov, partner of the Pleshakov, Ushkalov and Partners law firm. Despite the fact that Potanin formally controls his flagship asset through the Cypriot structure.

According to unofficial data, Vladimir and Natalya Potanins have long lived separately. According to Vladimir Pleshakov, a lawsuit in court may mean a desire to "quickly get a divorce decision," for example, so that the money expected by the owner of Norilsk Nickel from the nearest transactions is not considered jointly acquired property.

Indeed, Potanin will soon receive a substantial amount. At the end of November 2013, Interros announced the sale to Gazprom-Media of its company Profmedia (it combines the TV channels 2x2, Friday, TV3, as well as the radio stations Autoradio, NRJ, Humor FM and Romantica). The transaction amount is estimated at $1 billion. Its completion, Profmedia reported, will be held in the first quarter of 2014.

The magistrate's court is the standard first instance in divorce cases, and you must go through it if there are minor children in the family, explains Alina Topornina from Yukov & Partners.

On December 25, 2013, the magistrate of the judicial section No. 418 of the Presnensky district of Moscow decided to provide her spouses Vladimir and Natalia Potanin two months for reconciliation.

Vladimir Pleshakov believes that Potanina's chances of getting exactly half of her husband's fortune are slim, if only because it is very difficult to technically assess all assets.

- It will take a lot of time and a huge team of lawyers. In addition, it is unlikely that she herself is going to manage Interros. Usually in such cases they agree on compensation, the lawyer comments.

For example, the wife of Boris Berezovsky Galina Besharova managed to sue hundreds of millions of pounds. The divorce of Roman Abramovich with his wife Irina passed without unnecessary conflicts. According to British tabloids, the oligarch's ex-wife received about £6 billion in compensation, including elite real estate (the Russian press spoke of $300 million). One of the most high-profile processes was the divorce of the ex-owner of Uralkali Dmitry Rybolovlev with his wife Elena, the courts are still stretching (December 2013). They pass abroad, since one of the spouses lives outside Russia.

2014: Divorce and maintenance - 8.5 million rubles per month

On February 25, 2014, it became known that the magistrate of section No. 418 (Presnensky district of Moscow) Svetlana Kopchak satisfied the lawsuit of the president of Interros HC and the general director of Norilsk Nickel MMC Vladimir Potanin to dissolve his marriage with Natalia Potanina. At the same time, the court granted Ms. Potanina's counterclaim for alimony, deciding to recover from the businessman in favor of one minor child a quarter of earnings or other income (8.5 million rubles) monthly.

The representative of Mr. Potanin, Marina Ivanova, told news agencies that property claims were not filed during the meeting, but her client's claim for the division of property is in production in the Presnensky District Court of Moscow. "He takes into account the interests of his wife," the lawyer said. Pre-trial preparation for the lawsuit will begin on March 13, 2014, specified in court.

Philip Ryabchenko, Natalia Potanina's lawyer, who is searching for Vladimir Potanin's assets around the world, told Kommersant that her representatives have not yet read the text of Mr. Potanin's lawsuit. Counsel believes that this claim may be "part of a well-thought-out legal strategy to prevent the legal division of the family condition." "The decision to file a lawsuit on our part will be made after we establish assets and ownership structure," said Mr. Ryabchenko, adding that he does not exclude out-of-court settlement of all issues. Marina Ivanova also said that she does not exclude a world settlement of this issue. Mr. Ryabchenko believes that if the parties cannot agree, the process will drag on "for years^[1].

As Kommersant has already reported, Vladimir Potanin, whose fortune is estimated at $14 billion, according to his ex-wife's lawyers, is trying to hide his assets. As part of the process to find them, Natalia Potanina has already applied to the US courts for permission to interrogate various American citizens who can work in the interests of Mr. Potanin.

2021: Start of court in London demanding 50% of ex-husband's share in Norilsk Nickel

In December 2021, the former wife of billionaire Vladimir Potanin Natalia demanded from him 50% of his share in Norilsk Nickel in London.

The process may be among the most expensive sections of property along with the divorces of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Potanin through Interros owns about 34% of Norilsk Nickel's shares. At the close of trading on December 7, Norilsk Nickel's capitalization amounted to $45.5 billion. Based on this, the 50% share of the businessman claimed by his ex-wife can be estimated at $7.7 billion.

Family

Vladimir and Natalia Potanins have three children (December 2013):

• Anastasia (29 years old),
• Ivan (24 years old) and
• Vasily (13 years old).

In the late 2000s, Vladimir Potanin said that he did not intend to leave them his fortune and, according to him, the family supported his decision. In February 2013, Vladimir Potanin was the first Russian to join the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Giving Pledge initiative. As part of this campaign, he promised to donate most of his fortune to charity^[2].

Notes