ENGLAND – Ruling in ‘toxic’ hedge fund divorce sees wife paid £1,000

They were the husband and wife team who made a £200million fortune from the investment business they built together.

 

Financier: Martin Coward

Financier: Martin Coward 

But after a ‘toxic’ divorce and 60 different court cases, Monte Carlo-based financier Martin Coward has been ordered to pay his former wife just £1,000 in damages following a dispute over intellectual property.

Greek-born Elena Ambrosiadou, who in 2004 was named the UK’s highest paid woman, won the bulk of a recent case giving her the lucrative rights to key software for the firm they founded called Ikos.

Coward was instructed to pay 85 per cent of the legal fees and deposit an interim payment of £3million within 28 days. The pair had been the golden couple of London’s high-octane hedge fund world. He was chief investment officer while his wife ran the show as chief executive.

 

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Ikos, which means ‘home’ in Greek, speculates on the wild swings of the foreign exchange markets.

Ambrosiadou, a Greek born chemical engineer, became an executive for BP when she was just 27 and founded Ikos aged 33 with £350,000.

In 2004 she earned a £16million salary and owns a 289 foot yacht, the Maltese Falcon, which comes complete with private submarine. Coward is a Cambridge educated maths genius. High Court Judge Mrs Justice Asplin ruled: ‘Dr Coward infringed Ikos’s copyright and breached the duty of confidence which he owed to Ikos in respect of software and other confidential documents.’

He was ordered to destroy certain items.

Previously the Judge had criticised Ambrosiadou’s evidence, accusing her of being ‘extremely evasive’ as well as appearing to ‘obfuscate and confuse’.

Coward was also told his evidence was at times ‘cavalier’.

It is unclear whether Coward will appeal.

Mark Grant, a spokesman for law firm Lewis Silkin, said: ‘We can’t say anything.’

 

SOURCE: This is Money

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