Daily Mail UK

By Ian Sparks

A Russian billionaire has lost a £36 million deposit he paid to buy the most expensive house in the world on the French riviera, plus another £1million interest.

Mikhail Prokhorov - the world's 24th richest man - offered £360 million for the sprawling Villa Leopolda in 2008.

After making a ten per cent down-payment, he then backed out of the sale after the global credit crunch hit.

But under French property law, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can only be refunded during a seven day 'cooling-off' period.

A court in Nice ruled yesterday that the villa's owner, 71-year-old Lily Safra, could keep the £36 million pounds.

House hunter: Mikhail Prokhorov must pay philanthropist Lily Safra £36 million plus another £1 million interest after pulling out of a deal to beuy her home on the French Riviera for a world record £360 million

A judge also ruled that Mr Prokhorov, 44, must pay Mrs Safra an additional £1 million in interest.

The Villa Leopolda in Villefranche-sur-Mer was built for King Leopold II of Belgium in 1902.

Mrs Safra inherited the villa from her husband, billionaire banker Edmund Safra, after he was murdered by his male nurse in Monaco in 1999.

After the Nice court ruling, Mrs Safra said she would donate the money to ten charities, including almost £1 million for neuroscience research at King's College London and Imperial College London.

She said: 'By transforming the deposit into an act of giving I would like to encourage all who can do so to support medical research and other humanitarian causes.'  

It is the second time in a year that metals tycoon Mr Prokhorov, who is worth an estimated £6 billion, has come before the French courts.

Enlarge  

Villa Leopolda was built in 1902 by King Leopold II of Belgium and takes its name from him

In the 1950s it was purchased by Giovanni Agnelli, who later sold it to Edmund Safra. After his death in 1999 his wife Lily Safra inherited the property

He was arrested in the chic ski resort of Courcheval in 2007 for allegedly arranging up to 20 prostitutes for his guests.

He was released after four days, but only officially cleared of all charges by a court in Lyon last September.

Mr Prokhorov made his fortune with his platinum and nickel conglomerate Norilisk, which he sold two years ago.

He now runs the investment fund group Onexim and Russia's largest gold producer Polyus Gold.

The French prostitutes scandal is said to have caused 'immense damage' to his image in Russia, where he is known for his lavish lifestyle and was mocked on a Russian TV commercial for his love of travelling the world in a private jet surrounded by beautiful women.

The beneficiary organisations selected by Mrs Safra are: King’s College, London (Neuroscience Research), Imperial College, London (Neuroscience Research), Claude Pompidou Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease, Nice, Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, Sidaction: Together Against AIDS, France, A Window to Tomorrow – A Computer for Every Child, Israel, Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Tel Hashomer, Israel, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, Massachusetts, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, New York, Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda.