Businessman Ordered to Repay £1.3m After Divorce and Property Fraud Case
A businessman who funded his divorce through an elaborate property scam after his wife left him for Cesc Fabregas has now been ordered to repay £1.3 mln.
Elie Taktouk married Lebanese model Daniella Semaan in 1998, but the relationship ended 13 years later when she began a romance with the former Arsenal midfielder. The separation led to a bitter legal dispute, during which Taktouk lost the couple’s £5.5 mln Belgravia home to Semaan and her new partner.
Fraud Conviction and Confiscation Orders
Taktouk, now 50, was jailed for seven years in 2021 after being convicted of a multi-million pound property fraud. In 2023 he was told to repay £4.5 mln or face an extra eight years in prison.
Although he successfully appealed against the additional jail time, he could not prevent the sale of the family home to his ex-wife and Fabregas.
At a new confiscation hearing, the court confirmed a revised repayment figure of £1.3 mln. Kennedy Talbot KC said both sides had agreed that the sum sat between what Taktouk claimed he could afford and the original amount demanded.
The court heard previously that Taktouk’s late father Youssef was among the wealthiest individuals in Ibadan, Nigeria, valued at around £187 mln. Both Taktouk and his brother Dr Wassim Taktouk held shares in the family firm Wasseli. Dr Wassim has agreed to secure the repayment by charging one of his properties, ensuring the money will be paid.
Funds Used to Support Lavish Lifestyle
Taktouk was convicted of 11 counts of fraud and forgery tied to a failed redevelopment scheme in Knightsbridge. As director of JMT Property Ltd, he received multiple investments from property developer Adrian Noel and his father Frank, who financed both the acquisition and proposed works.
Instead of using the investors’ funds for the project, Taktouk diverted around £2.5 mln to pay for an extravagant lifestyle, though the total losses were believed to exceed £3.2 mln.
Taktouk has two children with Semaan. She and Fabregas first met in the London restaurant Nozomi in 2013, prompting the contentious separation. The couple married in 2018 and live in Italy, where Fabregas now manages Serie A side Como.
