W’s brother
49.The first witness was W’s brother. I found him to be a level-headed and credible witness. I have already mentioned his evidence that the sum that he provided to W in 2016 was a reward from his own personal resources for work carried out for him by W in his private (as opposed to family business) capacity. I am satisfied that it was the subject of the donation agreement to which I have referred.50.I accept that he did not change his mind about looking for a London flat in 2017 or thereafter when his daughter returned to Russia, but it assumed lesser importance. Nevertheless, he kept intact the sterling account which he had established for the purpose of a purchase.51.This is a family which has a history of providing first homes for its members as they grow up:i)W was gifted her Moscow apartment at age 21.ii)When H and W bought their London home in 2016 enquiries were made by them of making A (then aged about 10) the holder, albeit that this foundered by reason of her being underage.iii)B purchased a property in Moscow for his eldest child, the completion of which took place when he was 18 or soon after.52.It would therefore be consistent with history if B were to purchase a property in London for his eldest daughter if she was to be there. It had been anticipated that she would come to university in London. In fact, she has entered university in Moscow, but that was as a result of covid restricting her ability to travel and the fallout from this most acrimonious divorce taking place between H and W. B says that the current intention is for her to do a Masters’ degree in London.53.B speaks no English and SB speaks no Russian. Although they have met once, they have never conversed because they have no common language. 54.B regarded the fact of the purchase of 30 taking place in W’s name as being of no significance. He knew that she would transfer the new flat to him or his daughter whenever and as he wanted; at all times he was the ‘real’ or ‘ultimate’ owner. It was simply a matter of convenience that the property was purchased in his sister’s name because of the infrequency of his visits to London, his lack of English language and to facilitate W’s management of the property in his absence.55.H’s case was that “the money was gifted to (W) and me for the purchase. This was a tax efficient way for monies to be provided to (W) from her family in respect of her work in the businesses as well as her dividends received, on the basis that no tax is payable in either Russia or the UK to HMRC upon offshore monies being gifted.”56.The suggestion that the transfer of the monies to W was part of the cascade of family money from the wider family to the narrower family, as Mr Waterman KC put it, is superficially attractive. He is right to say that W and H have always lived off her family business at a rate far higher than her relatively modest salary (excluding her receipt of dividend income) would have permitted. He hypothesised that it was all the result of family handouts. 57.However, one of the difficulties that this argument faces is that it was never put to B or even to W. There was next to no exploration as to how the family finances operated save in respect of the £3m payment in 2016. How W came to have the best part of £13m in her bank account was never explored with her. W has made it in plain in the financial remedy proceedings that she regards that money as held for H and W’s daughters. H disputes this but if W is correct it would on H’s case have been the obvious source for the purchase of the new flat which he says was to be purchased for their benefit, but this was never canvassed.58.There is no evidence that B has ever made a substantial gift to any member of W’s family other than the £3m in 2016, and he denies that he has ever done so. The 2016 payment was the subject of the donation agreement to avoid any ambiguity about whether there was a debt. He gave a convincing reason for why that payment was made. I can see no reason why he would have made another such payment from his own resources 4 years later, particularly at a time when he knew that the marriage was in a critical state, and when W was in no need of his financial assistance.59.B regarded H’s suggestion that W was the brains behind the business who in effect managed its strategic direction as risible. He made it clear that he and his father have complete control of the business and that W does not make significant decisions nor design financial strategy. She implements what they determine. True it is she bears the job title of “CFO”, but both he and she said that it equated to meaning “head of accounts” and does not bear the significance which it might be given in the UK. I did not think that his reaction to H’s suggestion was other than genuine.60.B rejected H’s assertion that when the new flat was found, W rang him to ask if he would like the flat as a matter of politeness and that he declined.61.I found B a persuasive witness. On occasions his recollection of dates was shown to be incorrect, but this does not shift my view that his evidence was reliable on major matters.