Ex-wife of Russian tycoon disputes the most costly flat in NY

Before Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev could make himself at home in the new $88 million apartment in New York, his soon to be ex-wife turned to the courts to dispute the purchase.

Elena Rybolovleva, who is in the middle of divorce, sued her husband in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. She accuses him of fraudulently using assets acquired during his marriage to buy the New York penthouse “with the specific intent of hiding and diverting his personal interest in the property” during divorce proceedings.Rybolovlev closed the property deal through the company associated with their daughter, Ekaterina, who lives in New York, according to the lawsuit.Rybolovlev, the ex-owner of potash producers Uralkali and Silvinit, bought the apartment at 15 Central Park West with four bedrooms, a gallery, bar, library and huge wrap-around terrace from former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill in February. The apartment is considered the most costly property in New York.Earlier Mrs Rybolovleva has also sued her husband in Florida over Donald Trump's former villa in Palm Beach Florida for $100 million, which was the most expensive house in the U.S. at the time of its purchase.Rybolovleva claims, her husband has no right to close deals with property before the Swiss court makes a decision over property division. She filed for divorce in Geneva in December 2008. Later the Swiss court froze the shares and assets of Rybolovlev, including stakes in Uralkali and Silvinit. Mr Rybolovlev is the 93rd richest person in the world with a net worth around $9.5 billion, according to the Forbes magazine. In 2010 he gained control of Bank of Cyprus. He is a resident of Monaco and owns FC Monaco. The divorce could cost him about $6 billion, making it the most expensive divorce ever.