The wife of green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince has been awarded more than £40million by a High Court judge following their divorce.
However, Mr Vince said his ex-wife emerged from their divorce with £12 million less than he gave her four years ago.
The two men disputed how their money should be split at a hearing in December.
Ms Vince’s lawyers told the court her ex-husband was handing over their marital assets, of which she should be entitled to half, including £5,460,000 in donations to the Labor Party between April 2022 and May 2024.
Ecotricity founder Mr Vince said the increase in donations and other spending came from the added value of his companies and had “nothing to do with” the legal battle.
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In his 20-page ruling released Friday, Justice Cusworth said the donations “appear to have been timed to precede the recent general election” and were made at a time when Mr. Vince’s “company coffers were full “.
He said: “It was therefore both predictable and hardly inexplicable that the company would choose to make a large and specific donation at this time. I am satisfied that the husband’s motivation in approving this transaction was political and not related to this procedure.
After the judge’s ruling on Friday, Mr Vince said the judgment was a “total vindication of my approach to this case from the very beginning”.
“Along with her legal team, (my ex-wife) wasted years of time, not just ours – the court’s, and some £6 million in costs. »
Ms Vince’s lawyer, Sarah Jane Lenihan, a partner at Dawson Cornwell, said her client “readily pays tribute to Mr Vince’s many talents, which have been and will be of great value to the community and the country” .
She said: “It is entirely fitting that Ms Vince received an award which reflects her many contributions throughout the marriage, which the judge recognised, during which Mr Vince built the majority of his fortune. “
Judge Cusworth said Mr Vince could pay Mrs Vince in three installments, of £13.94m, £14.49m and £15.08m, including interest, for a total of 43 .51 million pounds sterling.