A wealthy socialite wants a Manhattan judge to move her divorce from Monaco to New York so she won’t risk losing any of the expensive gifts her husband gave her during their short marriage.
Tracey Hejailan-Amon could lose $70 million that her estranged husband, Swiss businessman Maurice Alain Amon, gave her during their eight-year union, since Monaco allows spouses to take back gifts they gave while married.
The gifts Hejailan-Amon received include a $15 million Fifth Avenue apartment, jewelry, cars, art and furnishings — all of which Hejailan-Amon would keep if the case were tried in New York.
She’d also have a shot at half of a $25 million art collection the couple built during their marriage.
Hejailan-Amon doesn’t file taxes, vote or have a driver’s license in New York — but she still wants the benefit of the state’s generous “equitable distribution” law.
Her lawyer, Judd Burstein, argued at a recent Manhattan Supreme Court appearance that the former couple has homes in France, Monaco, Switzerland and New York — and Hejailan-Amon visited her Manhattan pad so often that it should be considered her legal residence.
Amon’s lawyer Peter Bronstein called the spurned spouse a “gold digger” who is demanding $235,000 in monthly alimony on top of the gifts.
The judge said she would rule on the matter within 60 days.
“If we prevail, as I believe we will, Mr. Amon will find himself in a New York divorce case, where he stands to lose perhaps $100 million more than what a Monaco court might order,” Burstein said.