The former wife of a celebrity business tycoon claims their 14-year-old son fears returning to Britain because he will be forced to have sex with a prostitute to “make him a man”.
Heather Bird has accused Robert Tchenguiz of subjecting her to “years of intense psychological abuse”, which was witnessed by their son.
After their separation the couple lived on different floors of their £20 million mansion opposite the Royal Albert Hall in London with Tchenguiz’s girlfriend, the Polish model Julia Dybowska, 30. The unconventional relationship featured in the 2018 BBC documentary The Rise and Fall of the Playboy Billionaire.
Tchenguiz, 61, initiated legal action against Bird, accusing her of abducting their son when she refused to return to London after a trip to the US last Christmas.
Bird, 51, claims in a filing at the district court, Missoula division in Montana, that their son “feels fear and anxiety” about his father.
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“The root of his fear is due to the thought of being returned to London where his father will follow through on his threat of making [their son] into a man by having sex with a paid sex worker that his father will arrange for.
“The threat made clear that this would happen whether [the son] wants to participate or not. The age [Tchenguiz] considers appropriate is bar mitzvah age.”
Their son celebrated his bar mitzvah, marking the Jewish coming of age, a month before travelling to the US.
Bird, who ran an anti-ageing clinic in west London, told the court their son had enrolled in a school in her hometown of Eureka, Montana, competed for his school wrestling team in the state championship and started an online petition to allow him to remain in America.
She told the court they had been due to return to London in January but the flight was delayed due to Covid. A second flight in May could not be taken because the son had a fever.
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In June the son and his 17-year-old sister were due to join their father and his girlfriend on his yacht in Greece. That trip was also allegedly cancelled because the daughter was concerned she would not be allowed to return to America to continue her driving test and care for her horses.
Bird claims that since October 2016 she and the children had been “forced to live” with Tchenguiz, his girlfriend and a maid. She has asked the US court to rule on the future of their son.
The couple separated in 2009 but did not complete their divorce until 2019.
Tchenguiz started legal action in October under the Hague Convention, which says court hearings about children under the age of 16 should normally be held in the country where they habitually live.
He said the family had lived in London since their marriage in 2005 and their son had a place at a leading school in the capital. He said the children’s flights home had been changed seven times since he asked them to be returned.
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Tchenguiz has asked the court to order his son’s “prompt” return to London.
His lawyer, Christopher Gillette, said in a court document that Tchenguiz had joint custody of his son and has provided “emotional and financial support” throughout his life when they had lived in Knightsbridge, central London.
Judge Donald Molloy has adjourned the hearing until next month because Bird’s “grave risk of harm defence” meant both their credibilities were “directly at issue”. He also ordered their son to undergo a “mental evaluation addressing the issue of psychological harm”.
Tchenguiz had objected to his portrayal in the BBC documentary as enjoying a luxury lifestyle while his wife and children struggled on the lower floors. He said: “I have a very civil relationship with my ex-wife. We travel together. We still live together. She’s the mother of my children and I’ve done everything to ensure she has what she wants.”
Brothers had a portfolio of buildings worth £4.5bn at their peak
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Tchenguiz has been a leading figure in London society and is rumoured to have introduced Diana, Princess of Wales, to Dodi al-Fayed. His friends include Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Easyjet founder; Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula One owner; and Philip Green, the former Topshop mogul.
He started in property by buying a student flat in Marble Arch, west London, for £50,000. With his brother Vincent, 65, they made a fortune. In 2007 The Sunday Times Rich List recorded that they were worth £850 million.
At their peak the brothers had a portfolio of more than 600 buildings said to be worth £4.5 billion. The brothers borrowed a reported £1.6 billion from the Icelandic bank Kaupthing.
When the bank collapsed in 2008 the brothers had to sell many of their investments. Tchenguiz was arrested by the Serious Fraud Office but exonerated and received £1.5 million compensation.
