LONDON: A member of the Siemens family dynasty is embroiled in a bitter London divorce case, with his wife accusing him of avoiding child payments despite living a lavish lifestyle.
The wife of Bjoern von Siemens, a descendant of Werner von Siemens who founded the German conglomerate, was seeking £100,000 (RM550,000) in missed payments at a preliminary hearing before he agreed to a last-minute payment.
Bjoern, whose wealth was put at nearly £50 million (RM275mil) in assets, is also the founder of Caresyntax, a digital platform aimed at reducing deaths from surgery-related complications that has attracted investment from BlackRock Inc.
Bjoern’s family are helping him with the payments, the wife’s lawyers said on Friday.
A judge had previously ordered Bjoern to pay £15,750 (RM87,000) in monthly maintenance for their two children pending a full divorce case.
Bjoern. - via X
Lawyers for Leah von Siemens said in court documents that she will be entitled to a minimum of £1.5 million (RM8.3mil) through their prenuptial agreement for the three-and-a half year marriage.
London’s family courts have been a popular destination for high-value legal fights, with judges typically prepared to order a more equal share of a couple’s assets.
The courts are still deciding whether to hear one of world’s biggest divorce claims between Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s second-richest man, and his former wife.
In court documents prepared for the hearing, Leah accused her husband of downplaying his wealth and claiming his finances were falsely strained.
Her lawyers said despite this assertion, credit card bills showed he had spent thousands of pounds on luxury hotel stays, nightclubs and restaurants.
He’d also paid for a luxury rental in London and made a transfer of US$150,000 (RM616,000) to his new girlfriend.
"The fact that he has not paid a penny betrays the obvious: he is not paying because he doesn’t think he should have to, not because he can’t afford to,” said Joe Rainer, a lawyer for Leah.
Bjoern said that the prior hearing "grossly overestimated his resources,” according to the documents, and that the spending was all tied to business expenses.
He had previously told the court that he earned £50,000 (RM276,000) a year, although a judge ruled that this was likely closer to £400,000 to £500,000 (between RM2.2mil and RM2.8mil) a year.
The couple’s prenuptial agreement also stated that he had £46.7 million (RM257mil) in assets, the documents said.
Bjoern did not respond to a comment request made via Linkedin. His lawyer said he couldn’t comment on behalf on his client when asked at court.
