Foreign Courts: Putting Non-UK Assets Out of Reach
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Yael Selig
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Financial Remedies: could a party use a foreign court to put non-UK assets out of reach?
The financial remedies team at Osbornes Law are experienced in representing clients where there are UK and foreign assets at stake.
In the realm of financial remedies, the case of VTY v GDB [2025] EWFC 110 (B) presents a striking example of the complexities involved in cross-border asset disputes during divorce proceedings. Recently, the party involved in this case (his identity is not publicly known) appears to have secured a foreign judgment in suspicious circumstances, preventing a valuable UK property from being considered for division on divorce.
The court’s inability to reject the ruling exposes the risk that a party owning a cross-border asset could use the court in another jurisdiction to put an asset beyond reach.
What happened?
The husband in this case was 54 and enjoyed a lucrative career as a financial consultant. He and his former wife (46) married in 1999 and they had three children. She was the homemaker.
They lived in another country for some time, returning to England for good by 2017. The wife discovered in 2022 that the husband was having an affair; and after approximately a year she decided to petition for divorce. Following separation, the husband spent an “obscene” amount of money on himself.
Unfortunately, as the litigation progressed, the husband proved to be uncooperative; engaging in what the judge described as a “frustrating and confounding process of obfuscatory disclosure” which was never completed.
The farm
The parties’ assets amounted to around £1.8m and included land, property and business interests in the UK and abroad. One of those assets was a £400,000 farming property in country X which the husband’s father purchased in the early 2000s. He gifted it to the husband in 2017, making him sole beneficial owner.
In several earlier court orders the husband acknowledged ownership of the farm. However, he failed to cooperate with a subsequent order to have the property valued, arguing it was “illiquid”, and it did not in fact belong to him.
Meanwhile, the wife suspected he might try to put the farm beyond reach and applied for an injunction in country X, pending the outcome of the financial proceedings. Although she was granted a temporary injunction in November 2023, in January 2025 a court in country X had concluded that the gift of the farm to the husband was illegal.
He then denied ownership of the farm within the UK proceedings relying on that judgment. The wife then claimed that the foreign litigation was a deliberate attempt to make it appear as he did not own the farm.
Suspected fraud
A foreign judgment which is final and conclusive on the merits, and cannot be impeached for reasons such as fraud or error, is conclusive. Here, the court was suspicious of possible fraud by the husband for several reasons. For example, his position in the financial proceedings appeared to be at odds with what he asserted in the foreign proceedings; and he had misled the court in that country.
Despite the judge being highly suspicious, there was no enhanced standard of proof to demonstrate a fraud. There were also “too many imponderables” at play. This meant it was not appropriate for the court to proceed on the basis that the foreign judgment had been fraudulently obtained.
Not only was the court effectively powerless in the face of this foreign judgment, but the husband could still resume beneficial ownership of the farm contrary to that judgment. If he was to attempt to do so, the wife may have grounds to take further action against him.
In the circumstances, the judge awarded a 71:29 split in the wife’s favour.
What does this mean?
This is an unusual and concerning case. It highlights the potential for one party to use, even manipulate, a foreign court to place non-UK assets out of reach for the purposes of a financial order in a divorce, and it raises significant questions about asset protection and legal manipulation.
How can we help ?
The financial remedies team at Osbornes Law is well-equipped to navigate these challenges, offering expert advice and strategic solutions to protect your interests. With a deep understanding of both UK and international legal systems, our team can effectively address issues of assets concealment and manipulation, ensuring a fair and just outcome. If you have any concerns about attempts to evade a financial order, contact us by:
- Filling in our online enquiry form; or
- Calling us on 020 7485 8811
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