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Millionaire's passport to remain impounded throughout divorce proceedings
Tue 07 Feb 2012
A wealthy businessman will not be able to travel outside the UK while divorce proceedings are continuing.
Scot Young, a multimillionaire property tycoon, had his passport taken away from him after he was found to have failed to disclose details of some of his assets, the Press Association reports.
Mr Young had claimed he needed the document so he could carry out charity work in Africa.
However, a dispute over the amount of maintenance money he is able to pay to his estranged wife is still ongoing, so a High Court judge ruled his passport should remain impounded.
He said that if Mr Young was allowed to leave the UK, his former wife would be "materially prejudiced in the prosecution of her claim for financial remedies".
The judge also described the businessman's apparent desire to do charitable work in Africa as "highly implausible" and suggested he is concealing his true reasons for wanting to go abroad.
Mr and Mrs Young have two children together, now both teenagers, and split up six years ago.
Carol Ellinas, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood, commented: "Understandably clients become very frustrated when a court has made an order in their favour but their ex is not complying with the terms.
"They have no alternative other than to reapply to the court for enforcement of the order, incurring further legal costs. Then they are faced with what appears to be rather limited sanctions.
"Ordering the surrender of a passport is both punitive and effective. Restricting a party from leaving the country until he has complied with the terms of the disclosure order will make him focus on preparing for the final hearing.
"Our team of family lawyers has extensive experience in dealing with complex financial cases similar to the 'Young' case, which sadly in the current economic climate appear to be on the increase."
