The Court of Cassation has confirmed that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov will not recover the deposit paid for the aborted sale of the Villa Leopolda.
The Supreme Court enacted that Mikhail Prokhorov will not recover his deposit, paid four years ago, for the acquisition of Villa Leopolda, built on the magnificent bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes). The sum total is astronomical 39 million, or 10% of the transaction value - 370 million euro plus 19.5 million euro for furniture.
In the summer of 2008, the Russian oligarch agrees to buy this wonder of the Côte d'Azur, located in a park of eight hectares and was erected in 1902 by the Belgian king, Leopold II. Finally, it retracts, without arguing. As a guarantee, it had meanwhile paid a deposit to the owner of the villa, Lily Safra.
Mikhail Prokhorov wants then recover 39 million. He appealed to the Appeal court in Aix-en Provence the 15 of April, 2011. Extended motivation: he was not given a 7-day period during which it could refuse the deal. The Court of Cassation held that the Appellate court "rightly" ruled: the company Trého, purchasers of the land through which the Russian billionaire had made the transaction did not qualify this time because of its status professional buyer.
For Mrs. Safra, widow of Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, «this decision is quite satisfactory» - says her lawyer Cyril Bonanno. He added: «Almost all of the 39 million already paid to charity».