LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctioned Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman cannot spend thousands of pounds a month on the upkeep of his London mansion, containing a 44 million-pound ($53.2 million) art collection, London's High Court ruled on Thursday.
Fridman took Britain's sanctions office, OFSI, to court after it refused to allow him to spend 30,000 pounds a month to prevent Athlone House, which he bought for 65 million pounds, from falling into disrepair.
The 59-year-old also wanted to spend 1,850 pounds a month on communications systems, which Fridman said regulate Athlone House's telephones, IT, lighting, heating and security.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) said it had already licensed Fridman to meet arrears and make one-off payments totalling around 1.4 million pounds, plus future payments of 760,000 pounds a year.
Athlone House, in north London, was raided by Britain's National Crime Agency in December, which is the subject of a separate legal challenge by Fridman.
Persons:
Mikhail Fridman, Fridman, Judge Pushpinder Saini, Fridman's, OFSI, Saini, Sam Tobin, Deborah Kyvrikosaios
Organizations:
Athlone, Athlone House, Britain's National Crime Agency, Forbes
Locations:
Russian, Athlone, Britain, Israel, Russia, London, Ukraine