A TYCOON who paid for his divorce with a property fraud after his wife left him for Cesc Fabregas has won a £4.5million legal battle.
Elie Taktouk married Lebanese model Daniella Semaan in 1998 but they split 13 years later when she dumped him for the ex-Arsenal star.
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During a bitter divorce battle, Taktouk lost the the £5.5million marital home in Belgravia to his ex and her new partner.
The 50-year-old was then jailed for seven years in 2021 over a multi-million pound property fraud.
He was ordered to pay £4.5million in a confiscation ruling two years later following the scam.
A judge ruled Taktouk should serve eight years in jail consecutive to his seven year sentence if the money was not paid in default.
But Taktouk has now won the right to appeal that order at the Court of Appeal.
This is so judges can “receive fresh evidence from the appellant’s brother, Dr Wassim Taktouk, who is the executor of the estate of their late father”.
The court heard previously how Taktouk’s dad Youssef Taktouk was one of the richest men in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was worth around £187million.
Both he and brother Dr Wassim Taktouk were shareholders in his father’s company Wasseli.
A previous judge examined whether he inherited anything that could be subject to the confiscation order following his father’s death.
But Taktouk argued: “I cannot comment on a company I had no control over, no power over.
“My father gave me and my brother a ten per cent share each when we were younger, in 1992, I think when I was still a teenager.
“I don’t have any details of his wealth.”
The court also heard how Taktouk drove a Porsche and rented a £21,000 a month property in Kensington.
Between September 2014 and August 2021, he bought £78,000 worth of luxury items from Harrods.
Taktouk was convicted of 11 counts of fraud and forgery offences relating to a failed property redevelopment in Knightsbridge.
The director of JMT Property Ltd was privately prosecuted by property developer Adrian Noël and his father Frank.
They had made an initial investment to buy the property – and then made ten additional investments at Taktouk’s request for works to be done while he was project manager.
But he used the cash to fund his extravagant lifestyle to the tune of £2.5million – although the total loss was believed to be £3,237,347.
Taktouk has two children from his marriage to model Daniella.
She and ex-Chelsea star Fabregas first met in Japanese restaurant Nozomi in 2013 – sparking a bitter divorce battle.
Fabregas now shares three children with Danielle, who he married in May 2018.
The couple live in Italy where the ex-Arsenal skipper manages Serie A side Como.
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