Russian tycoon’s ex-wife quizzed in Cyprus over ‘stolen’ diamond

The ex-wife of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev was arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of stealing a diamond ring worth as much as 50 million euros, police said Tuesday.

Elena Rybolovleva, whose ex-husband is the owner of big-spending French football club AS Monaco, was later released without charge, police said.

The Rybolovlev family filed a complaint accusing the woman of stealing a valuable piece of jewellery that media reports said was worth between 25-50 million euros and belonged to a family trust fund.

She was detained on arrival at Larnaca airport from Switzerland on a private jet and later questioned at Limassol police station on the island’s southern coast before being released late Monday.

A Cyprus police press officer told AFP that the investigation was continuing but that so far there was no reason to keep the suspect in custody.

The couple — who wed in Cyprus and were married for 23 years — have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the terms of their divorce since 2008.

Elena is claiming $3.5 billion (2.5 billion euros) of the tycoon’s estimated $9 billion fortune.

Rybolovlev was one of the many large Russian depositors in the Bank of Cyprus who suffered a 47.5 percent “haircut” on their savings of over 100,000 euros in last March’s international bailout of the financially troubled island.

The family trust fund had been set up for the benefit of the couple’s daughters, Katia and Anna.