British socialite asks judge to imprison ex-husband
A UK socialite has accused her ex-husband of failing to pay her the $AUD 94 million he was court-ordered to pay up earlier in the year.
The separation of media mogul Sir Frederick Barclay and Lady Hiroko Barclay has become one of the UK’s most dramatic divorces, after they ended a 34-year marriage earlier this year.
In May, a court ordered Sir Barclay to pay his ex-wife Lady Barclay £100 million ($AUD 188 million) in total, with the first half due in August.
The second half is due in 2022.
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Three months later, Ms Barclay returned to court in a preliminary hearing, where she asked a judge to send her former husband to jail after she alleged he failed to make the payment and produce certain documents. She argued that he had breached court orders made at the end of their 34-year marriage.
The socialite, aged in her 70s, applied for Sir Barclay to be held in contempt of court, meaning he could be fined, have his assets frozen, or spend time in prison.
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According to the Independent, Sir Barclay’s lawyer Charles Howard QC said Lady Barclay would need to prove he had the “means to meet” the payment and had “willfully refused or neglected” to do so.
The judge, Sir Jonathan Cohen, said the final hearing would be staged early next year.
Sir Frederick’s lawyers asked if the hearing could be held online to avoid forcing the 78-year-old to travel, which Sir Cohen did not rule out.