Family feud leads to judgment worth £149m
A FAMILY feud involving a society princess, her film star mother and her estranged sister, who once described their lifestyle as a ‘golden hell’, has resulted in a Royal Court judgment of about £149 million.
Following years of hearings and a trial that lasted almost three months, the court found in favour of estranged sister Cristiana Crociani and her two daughters, Delia and Livia Delrieu.
The trio had made a series of claims related to a Bahamian trust known as the Grand Trust, which was originally settled in 1987 by film actress Edoarda Vesel Crociani, for the benefit of Cristiana and her sister Camilla – now Princess Camilla de Bourbon des Deux Siciles – and their children.
The trust was made up of a valuable portfolio of investments, various receivables and works of art, and once reconstituted, as the Royal Court has ordered, is expected to be worth $200 million – about £149 million.
However, it was found that Cristiana and her daughters had been excluded from the benefits of the trust, which she perceived as having been diverted in secret in favour of her sister Camilla.
The complex case involved numerous advisers, intermediaries, structures, family members and assets in jurisdictions including Italy, Holland, the Bahamas, Mauritius, the US and Jersey.
Full story in Friday's Guernsey Press
