Woman who says £20m divorce deal isn't enough! This isn't over, declares tycoon's wife over sum she calls a disgrace



Michelle Young had demanded half her husband Scot's assets, maintaining he was worth 'a few billion at least' but had hidden away 'a vast fortune'

Speaking outside court she described her lengthy legal battle as 'a desperate struggle for me and my daughters'

Accusing her husband of making a 'mockery of the justice system' she vowed 'this is not over'



She arrived with a smile on her face, hoping to walk away with £300million plus expenses.

Hours later, Michelle Young was £20million richer but her cheery grin had been replaced with a look of disgust.

After an ‘extraordinary’ legal fight that has spanned more than six years, 65 hearings and cost millions of pounds – Mrs Young, 49, has finally won her right to a slice of her estranged husband’s fortune.

Warring: Scot, left, and his estranged wife Michelle, right, pictured arriving at the High Court in London today. She has always maintained that her husband was hiding his assets

Yesterday a judge ruled that ‘fixer for the super-rich’ Scot Young, 51, appeared to have hidden around £45million from the court. He gave the wife £20million, despite the fact that she told the court she needed enough money to buy a £25million mansion in London’s exclusive Belgravia.



But the judge launched a scathing attack on the Youngs, saying he felt ‘nothing but sympathy’ for their two children, and criticising the warring couple for failing to be ‘child-focused’.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Moor said: ‘It is undoubtedly the most difficult financial remedy case I have ever come across.

‘This case has been extraordinary even by the standards of the most bitter matrimonial breakdowns. Extremely serious allegations have been bandied around like confetti.

‘Some of these allegations can only be described as “wild”. The case has cost the wife millions in litigation fees.

‘In many respects this is about as bad an example of how to litigate as I have encountered.’

He finished by saying: ‘Finally, I feel nothing but sympathy for the two children of these parties. Through no fault of their own, their parents’ marriage broke down.

‘A marital breakdown is distressing enough for any child, but for the divorce to then be played out in the full glare of the media must have been absolutely appalling for them.

‘What has occurred has not been child-focused. I truly hope that the parents will reflect on this. I hope it does not happen to any other children.’ Speaking outside the court, Mrs Young – who has been refusing to finalise the divorce until the finances are resolved – said: ‘It is a disgrace. I stand by what I said. He is worth billions.

Life of luxury: Michelle Young, pictured on the runway in Barbados with Scot and their daughter after their flight on Concorde. She told the trial they went on four exotic holidays a year

I feel nothing but sympathy for the two children. This must have been absolutely appalling for them Mr Justice Moor ‘Many people will be watching this and think it’s a fortune but all this order is is a piece of paper. This isn’t over. Not for me. Not for my two daughters and not for Mr Young.’ Asked about his wife’s reaction to the ruling, Mr Young said: ‘Disgraceful? That was my wife’s quote was it? No comment.’ Mrs Young had demanded half her husband’s assets, claiming that he was worth ‘a few billion pounds at least’ but had hidden away his cash in a series of secret investments. He was said to have created a business structure called ‘Project Marriage Walk’ to hide assets from his wife as their marriage hit the rocks.

Luxury lifestyle: Wood Perry House in Oxfordshire is just one of the properties belonging to Scot Young

Five star family fun: Scot and Michelle with daughters Sasha and Scarlet on holiday in the Mediterranean in 2000

Wedding day: Scot and Michelle Young signing a marriage register in 1995

Wronged: Michelle Young has been forced to pursue her estranged husband through the courts for years, claiming that he tried to avoid reaching a divorce settlement

Moving on: Scot Young pictured his model and TV presenter girlfriend Noelle Reno

After employing 13 sets of lawyers and four teams of accountants, she remains convinced that property tycoon Mr Young’s claims of bankruptcy are ‘lies’.

But handing down his ruling, Mr Justice Moor said: ’Doing as best as I can, I find that he still has £45million hidden from this court.

‘The wife is entitled to a lump sum of £20million. I can see no reasons why the husband should not pay the sum quickly – I therefore order him to pay within 28 days.’

He added: ‘I have rejected all the more fanciful allegations made against him.

‘I cannot see how he would have complied with an order for a lump sum of £300million let alone £400million. I hope that he will take the view that he is better off paying the lower sum of £20million so that he can concentrate on rebuilding his life.’

After beginning their relationship in 1989 and having two daughters, the Youngs had bought a home in London, a mansion in Oxfordshire, luxurious residences around the globe and travelled by private jet.

But after they separated in 2006 a bitter battle for cash began. Mr Young offered his wife a £300million settlement on 25 August 2009 – but the next year insisted that he had suffered a financial ‘meltdown’.

The court heard a further claim that Mr Young had then suggested another offer of £27million, saying that ‘only a greedy cow would refuse that’.

The very famous names dragged into the row

By DAVID WILKES

This isn't over: Speaking outside court today Michelle Young said she was furious and branded the judgment 'disgraceful'

They enjoyed a lifestyle known only by the world’s wealthiest, globe-trotting by private jet between their vast homes.



Inhabiting a world few people can imagine, Scot and Michelle Young mixed in a superleague of power players.



But as details of their fantastic riches were aired in court during one of Britain’s most acrimonious and colourful divorce battles, perhaps the most eyebrow-raising moment was the revelation of the largesse of Mr Young’s friends after the marriage fell apart.



In a statement to the court, retail tycoon Sir Philip Green said he had loaned Mr Young £80,000 in 2008 ‘as a favour’ to help pay for a Regent’s Park flat for Mrs Young.



Restaurateur Richard Caring confirmed that he loaned Mr Young £50,000 as he had known him for many years and wanted to help him through his financial difficulties.



Mrs Young, 49, sensationally alleged that the two men, along with X Factor impresario Simon Cowell and the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky were involved in a conspiracy to hide her husband’s assets.



Her bombshell claim to the High Court came as she pursued former property developer Mr Young for part of the billions of pounds she said he had hidden.



But Mr Young, 51, said he was left penniless after the collapse of a Moscow deal that cost him his entire fortune virtually overnight.



She even alleged her husband was a major shareholder with Cowell’s American Idol show, and added: ‘I am told I will never find out the truth because these people are wealthy and powerful.’



Mr Young, a former fixer to the super-rich, told the court his wife’s claims were those of a ‘fantasist’ and rejected her accusation that his friends were ‘sheltering’ his money.



He had met Cowell fewer than five times and had ‘never had any business with him’, and it was ‘laughable’ that he had a secret shareholding American Idol.



Mr Young claimed he had ‘probably bumped into Sir Philip in the street once and seen him outside a nightclub once’ in two years. He said he had had no income since 2006 and was living ‘with the support of friends’.



Sir Philip, Mr Cowell, Mr Caring and Mr Berezovsky, who was found hanged at his Ascot mansion earlier this year, all dismissed her allegations of a conspiracy. In his ruling yesterday, the judge said that he ‘entirely and unreservedly’ accepted the evidence given to the court by Sir Philip and Mr Caring about their loans to Mr Young.



Before their split, the couple lived in unimaginable luxury. They owned six mansions in Belgravia, Britain’s most exclusive postcode, and the family home was £21million Wood Perry House in Oxfordshire, described as ‘Buckingham Palace in miniature’.



They also had a £3.5million beach house in Miami, a yacht in Monaco, employed a small army of servants and housekeepers, and dined in the finest restaurants.



They drove fabulous cars, including two Mercedes Gullwings worth £700,000 each. Mr Young had a £70,000 watch, and said jewellery he bought for his wife’s 40th cost £150,000.









