Dead banker’s brother battling ‘lover’ over £4m fortune as he brands her ‘call girl’
A deceased banker’s brother is battling with his sibling’s “lover” after claiming that she used “undue influence” to obtain part of his £18 million fortune in a High Court battle.
Nightclub owner Magdalena Zalinska was given £4 million from Danny Truell before his death in 2019.
The 44-year-old is now being sued by his brother Edi Truell, who has accused the woman of being a “call girl”.
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Danny Truell, a former boss of the Welcome Trust, had been in a relationship with Miss Zalinska and made payments on her flat over seven years.
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(Image: Champion News)
Edi Truell says the interest payments are at the centre of the High Court case, alongside £2 million in cash, and £1.3 million from Danny’s bank account, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Solicitor John Rayner Hatchard and Edi’s lawyers executed the estate and described the pair’s relationship as that of a “call girl” and her client.
The lawyers argued that Miss Zalinska used “undue influence” over Danny to get him to hand over the cash and property.
She, however, denies the allegations and says they were in a loving and romantic relationship for 14 years before the 55-year-old died from a neurological condition.
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(Image: Innotech Network/Youtube)
Her lawyer, Amit Karia noted that the banker’s will described her as a “dependent and partner”.
But Edward Hicks, the barrister for the executors, told judge Mr Justice Michael Green that Mr Truell kept his family life and his life with Miss Zalinska “very separate”, as reports METRO.
He asked: “Is this a lady who is presenting a false picture of her relationship to Danny?
“We have evidence that she was in relationships with other people.”
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(Image: Champion News)
He also said several of the transactions made by Mr Truell before his death need to be explained.
Mr Hicks said: “Our case on Magfos is that this really was a front through which money was extracted from Danny.”
Mr Karia said Miss Zalinska had told him the money transferred to her was used for the upkeep of the flat, to fund renovation projects in Poland and for investments.
The full trial of the £4 million claim against Miss Zalinska is expected to go ahead next year, but in a hearing this week a judge, Master Francesca Kaye, was told that it revolves around the nature of the “strange relationship” between the pair.
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