The Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial of a high-profile divorce dispute amid allegations that the appellant’s husband failed to disclose cash assets during the first divorce proceedings.

Meerna Faraj has claimed that her ex-husband, Sohail Sultan Ahmad, Chief Executive and majority shareholder of Intercontinental Investment Bank (IIB), had not disclosed cash assets held on his behalf by the bank when they divorced in 2023.

At that trial, the judge awarded her £6.08 million and she was also granted an arrangement for IIB to help house her and the children pending resolution of the former matrimonial home.

This original decision was partly based on whether a €4.25 million agreement between Mr Ahmad and IIB to secure an extension of the lease over the former matrimonial home, which also purported to transfer the beneficial ownership of the home to the company, was genuine or a sham. The trial judge found the agreement to be genuine.

The trial judge also concluded that Mr Ahmad had access to undisclosed cash assets of £16 million held on his behalf by IIB.

However, the Court of Appeal found that the trial had been procedurally unfair, ruling that Mr Ahmad had not been properly confronted with the case against him during cross-examination on the disputed accounts. On that basis, the Court of Appeal set aside the findings and ordered a fresh High Court trial.

Speaking after the Court of Appeal ruling, Ms Faraj’s lawyer said the case “involved exceptionally complex issues concerning corporate structures, asset ownership and credibility.”

Commenting on the case, Roger Isaacs, Forensic Partner at Milsted Langdon, said that if either party fails to disclose assets during a divorce, the final settlement can be affected, so if either spouse believes this to be the case, they should engage professional help to ensure that their payout is fair.

“Cases like this show how much can turn on the quality of the financial evidence put before the court,” he said. “Corporate structures can easily be used to obscure where money actually sits and it takes a forensic accountant’s eye to trace it back to the true beneficial owner.

“Anyone who suspects their former partner is not disclosing matrimonial assets should get an experienced forensic accountant involved as soon as possible.”

Source(s): Today’s Family Lawyer, The Times