The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has announced he has divorced his wife of 15 years.
Mr Abramovich, who was ranked in Forbes magazine as the 11th richest person in the world last year, with an estimated worth of nearly 10.8 billion poundsn ($30 billion) made an out-of-court settlementto his wife, Irina, in Russia, his spokesman said.
No details of how much of his fortune Mrs Abramovich, who married the oil tycoon in the 1990s, would receive was disclosed. A spokesman for Mr Abramovich, 39, said the terms of the divorce, including the arrangements for the care of their five children, was made on "a consensual basis".
The divorce follows claims published in the News of the World in October last year that Mr Abramovich was having an affair with a 23-year-old model. Soon afterwards, Mrs Abramovich, a former air stewardess, was reported seen visiting the London offices of the leading divorce lawyer Raymond Tooth.
Speculation at the time put the amount that Mrs Abramovich may receive had the divorce gone through the English courts at 5.5.billion pounds ($15 billion).
Mr Abramovich's spokesman said the settlement would not affect his "corporate interests", including his ownership of Chelsea Football Club.
