Delta State-born oil baron, Michael Prest and his ex-wife Yasmin divorced in November 2011.
Their 18-year marriage produced 4 children.In June 2013, Yasmin won a landmark Supreme Court(United Kingdom) battle that got her half share of his estimated 37.5 million-pound fortune. The latest development is that senior appeal court judge, Lady Justice Gloster of the High Court Family Division has told Michael Prest to pay Yasmin £20,000 or have his appeal against an order to pay her £400,000 thrown out.
The deadline of paying £20,000 by October 28 has been extended pending his appeal, following which Lady Justice Gloster said it would be dismissed if he did not lodge the £20,000 in time.
Yasmin had asked the judge to make the order for £20,000 security of her costs for the forthcoming appeal. The Daily Mail reports that, ‘At a previous hearing, Mr Justice Moylan said he was satisfied Mr Prest had the means to give the £270,000 a year he was ordered to pay his ex-wife along with the £24,000 a year for their four children.
But because he has ‘willfully refused’ to hand over the money and was in contempt, he was told he must pay the £360,000 he still owes plus £40,000 towards his wife’s £82,000 legal costs within three months, or go to jail for four weeks.’ At the moment, Yasmin lives in the £5 million family home in Maida Vale, West London, which she keeps under the divorce settlement, while Michael Prest reportedly lives in Monaco.