Vincent Tchenguiz selling in St Tropez
VINCENT Tchenguiz has put his luxury French villa on the market for €30m (£25m) – after spending one night there in five years of ownership.
The elder brother of the Iranian-born business partnership has appointed the estate agents Knight Frank to sell the property, Villa Symphonie, in St Tropez
A spokesman for Tchenguiz insisted he was selling, not because he needed the money, but simply because of market forces.
“He’s selling his house because he has slept there one night in five years and there is significant demand for high value properties in St Tropez.
“The market is apparently being driven by Russians. It’s incredibly firm.”
The financial affairs of both Vincent and his younger brother Robert have been in the spotlight since they were arrested in March as part of investigation into the collapse of Kaupthing, the Icelandic bank.
After a dramatic dawn raid by the Serious Fraud Office and the City of London Police, the brothers were released without charge. They deny any wrongdoing.
Robert Tchenguiz was Kaupthing’s biggest client, having drawn loans worth around £1.7bn.
The brothers have now won the right to have a damages claim against Kaupthing heard in the UK courts, after a judge agreed the claim was subject to English law.
Their damages claim will be heard in the English High Court, upholding a jurisdictional clause in the original loan agreement.
Kaupthing, which was taken under state control in October 2008, had tried to have the claim dismissed from the UK system, leaving a separate claim to be filed as part of administration procedures in Iceland.
The family’s trust is also pursuing Kaupthing in a Reykjavik court, as part of the bank’s winding up procedure.