The mansion of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Santa Barbara, worth $ 14.6 million, belonged to a Russian oligarch who allegedly «threatened to hack to death his ex-wife,» according to court documents.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle purchased a home in Santa Barbara, California from a limited liability company partly owned by Russian tycoon Sergei Grishin.
Grishin and his ex-wife are currently in the process of trial. In a lawsuit filed in California, the tycoon claimed that his wife and her friend Salkess were lovers and tried to cheat him out of millions of dollars.
Grishin married Anna Fedoseeva in March 2017 after meeting her in Russia. She introduced him to her friend Jennifer Salkess, with whom, according to the man, then entered into a romantic relationship and conspiracy to cheat. Salkess and Anna reject Sergey Grishin's “false accusations”.
“Thanks to his funds, he has repeatedly used the judicial system against us. Its history has changed many times and is full of inconsistencies. We are looking forward to our day in court and justice. »
Grishin claimed that the women had fraudulently obtained a $ 561,000 loan from him, claiming that the money was used to fund their lifestyle and rent a Bentley. The couple filed a counterclaim, claiming that Grishin had launched a «campaign of terror» against Anna.
There are also accusations in court documents that Grishin received a “loan” for a scheme in which $ 58 billion was stolen from the Central Bank of Russia in the 1990s.
He presumably confessed to this in a video posted online, but to date, the video has already been removed.
The court documents state that Grishin «has repeatedly threatened with murder, sent pornographic images of his wife and Salkess in text and video messages.» The tycoon also sent his wife an SMS stating that he had a Glock pistol with a «15-round clip.»
He allegedly added: “Everything will happen at the Four Seasons, on the boulevard, during the day when there is a lot of light. [I will use] special bullets to be buried in a closed coffin. »
In addition, the court documents accused the Russian of trying to “kill” his wife, during which he directed “a pistol with a silencer at her head” and forced the woman “to undress at gunpoint”. It is also alleged that he punched his wife in the face, knocking out several of her teeth.
According to court documents, Grishin even threatened to hire a hitman. He also allegedly lodged a false statement with the Russian police, which resulted in Fedoseyeva being arrested and imprisoned for ten days.
According to the court, Anna also claims that he hacked into her computer and published their personal photos with Salkess on the Internet.
A spokesman for Grishin denied the allegations and told the Daily Mail that his client was «an unfortunate victim of fraud» by Fedoseyeva.
His lawsuit says that, less than two months after their marriage, Ms Fedoseyeva struck up a romantic relationship with a friend and then came up with a scheme to steal millions of dollars from him to fund her lifestyle.
“I read articles about how Harry and Megan quietly bought this house. — said 30-year-old Salkess — I would also try to remain silent if I bought a house from a Russian oligarch who is now under investigation for terrorizing his wife. He's a monster. »
Harry and Meghan took out a $ 9.5 million mortgage on a nine-room property that had previously been up for sale for $ 27 million.
Their huge 14,563-square-foot «palace» is known as the «Chateau». The mansion was bought by Grishin in 2009 for $ 25 million, but he struggled to find wealthy buyers who could pay the asking price.
Finally, in January, the house was again up for auction for about $ 17 million and sold to the royal couple.
A source close to Meghan and Harry says the couple refer to the luxurious mansion as their «hideout.»
The mansion, located in a gated community, features a giant swimming pool, sauna, wine cellar and a five-car garage. There is also a guest house with two bedrooms.
The main building houses a library, office, spa, gym, separate dry and wet saunas, games room, theater, arcade, wine cellar and a garage that can accommodate five cars.
