The ex-model girlfriend of a superrich financier was refused a £4million payout because his advisers suspected she was being 'greedy and undeserving'.

Nigerian born Tina Chantale Joseph, 51, lost a High Court legal battle over the cash which she claimed had been promised to her by multimillionaire Peter Cundill who died from an incurable disease aged 72 in 2011.

He became 'besotted' with the daughter of West African aristocrats who he met at Mayfair restaurant Trader Vic's following the death of his wife in 2003.

She told him she had been forced to flee to Europe with her influential Nigerian family because of persecution and had later been spotted by a modelling agency in her teens.

Tina Chantale Joseph was denied £4million of £5million she claimed was left to her by her rich partner Peter Cundill (right) because his advisers thought she was 'greedy and undeserving'

Mr Cundill's biographer writes of her: 'Her exotic glamour attracted him and he found her deep voice with its pronounced Nigerian intonations alluring.' He adds that she became a 'regular visitor' to his flat in Park Lane.

In his final years Mr Cundill - whose offshore trust fund alone was worth £230 million - bought her a flat in central London and paid her a £10,000-a-month allowance.

In an attempt to ensure she was financially comfortable after his death, he also wanted to give her £5 million.

For him, that was 'just a drop in the ocean', Judge Charles Purle QC told the High Court.

Peter Cundill was an award winning Canadian investment guru who died aged 72 in 2011

But his friend and trustee, Jenny Bingham, were concerned about Miss Joseph and appeared to view her as 'greedy and undeserving', the judge added.

Two instalments of £500,000 were paid to Miss Joseph in 2008 and 2009, but then the trustees halted payments.

When Mr Cundill sacked his housekeeper - apparently at Miss Joseph's behest – it was 'the last straw' for the trustees.

They decided she was 'interfering too much in his general life as well as having too much money spent on her' and refused to pay her another penny.

Miss Joseph brought legal action for negligence against Mr Cundill's solicitors, Farrer & Co - who also represent the Queen – claiming they ignored her financial interests in the dispute over the extra £4million.

Richard Parry, a partner in the firm, had advised Mr Cundill that the generosity he had already shown Miss Joseph was 'sufficient to discharge any moral obligation' towards her.

The trustees were also concerned that 'it was not appropriate to part with large sums of money if Miss Joseph might then terminate the relationship.'

There was 'no love lost' between Miss Joseph and the trustees and she was convinced that Mr Cundill's professional advisers had 'taken sides' against her, the judge added.

The case came before the High Court this week, where a judge dismissed her claim to the cash

'Mr Cundill was fully aware of the different ways in which he was pulled by, on the one hand, Miss Joseph and on the other hand by the trustees seeking to exercise restraint...

'One finds on many occasions Mr Cundill apparently agreeing with one advisor or another that this, that or the other is the appropriate way to conduct his affairs, only then for a volte face to occur after he has discussed matters with Miss Joseph.'

Matters came to a head in 2009 when Mr Cundill fired the housekeeper 'apparently with the encouragement or at the insistence of Miss Joseph'.

In a meeting, Mr Parry accused Miss Joseph of making 'ongoing efforts to take control in a persistent and aggressive manner of Peter's life.'

Judge Charles Purle QC (pictured) told the High Court that the £5million payment was 'just a drop in the ocean' for Mr Cundill

Mr Cundill was said to have agreed that he was 'very besotted' with Miss Joseph but that 'he did particularly not wish to marry her'.

Mr Parry and Miss Bingham expressed their 'deep concern' that Miss Joseph was intent on 'dismantling' his care regime.

Mr Cundill had told them he was 'happy' with his care arrangements, 'but also wished to appease Miss Joseph by changing them'.

Dismissing Miss Joseph's claim, Judge Purle said she never had any legal right to a share of the financier's immense fortune.

She was the 'mere beneficiary' of Mr Cundill's 'largesse' and 'proposed bounty' and had 'no bargaining position' to protect, he added.

The judge praised Farrer & Co for the steps they took to ensure the terminally ill financier was 'not the victim of his own folly.'

The trustees also owed legal duties to Mr Cundill's children and were not obliged to give in to his demand to pay millions to Miss Joseph, he said.

The judge added: 'It is of course an amazing thing for those of us who do not have access to vast wealth to contemplate being given substantial sums of the order which we are talking about in this case.

'For all that, this particular sum of £5 million was a drop in the ocean for Mr Cundill, whose trust fund was worth $300 million.'

Mr Cundill was an award winning Canadian investment guru who died in London from Ataxia Syndrome, a rare and untreatable neurological condition.