Russian beauty queen sues ex-Malaysian king for increased child support

A Russian beauty queen whose marriage to the former king of Malaysia collapsed weeks after she gave birth is launching a legal battle against her ex-husband to get an increase on a ‘derisory’ £1,200 a month child maintenance payment.

London-based Oksana Voevodina, 30, has been in contact with a team of British lawyers in a bid to settle a long-running bitter dispute over the future of their three year old son.

Lawyers for Voevodina argued the monthly amount was not enough considering her ex-husband, Sultan Muhammed V, was ‘extremely wealthy.’

They told a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today that the 53-year-old former monarch had provided the monthly maintenance of £1,200.

Her lawyer Nicholas Wilkinson told the court the issue concerned ‘the wealthy ex-King of Malaysia who seeks to suggest $1,500 [£1,200] a month is sufficient to provide for his ex-wife and child.’

He told the court the former King, who abdicated in 2020 after a backlash against his marriage, had failed to comply with a previous court order as part of his ex-wife’s claim when he was asked to reveal his assets. And Mr Wilkinson described the current maintenance sum, which will be paid until the child is 18, as ‘derisory’.

The former Miss Moscow had also received a £12,000 lump sum payment after her divorce following a marriage that ended in 2019 – after just a year.

But Mr Wilkinson said of the divorce settlement: ‘There is manifest injustice.’

Voevodina, who has also worked in investment and has returned to her former career of modelling, arrived at the court flanked by her three lawyers.

The 30-year-old was dressed in a tailored black satin trouser suit, stiletto heels and clutching a Prada handbag.

She did not speak before Mrs Justice Leiven of the Family Division of the High Court but scribbled on post it notes throughout the day long hearing.

The former King, who is reported to be worth millions, is understood to have never met his son, who cannot be named for legal reasons. And the sultan, who remains the ruler of Kelantan in Malaysia, is believed to have never publicly acknowledged the child as his.

Oksana, a former Miss Moscow, is understood to have claimed that her son is the sultan’s sole male heir and as such ‘crown prince of the Sultanate of Kelantan’ and potential ‘future king of Malaysia’.

Oksana lives in the UK with her son and a female friend from Ukraine.

Michael Horton, KC, for the ex-King, had attempted to challenge Oskana’s eligibility to seek a High Court ruling as she had only been resident here for a year.

But the judge ruled that she had met the eligibility test to bring an application before the High Court.

Mr Horton also said the ex-husband would be seeking sovereign state immunity which would absolve him from any ruling that is made. The judge ruled that can be decided at a further hearing.

She was divorced by her twice wed husband under strict Islamic law a month after the birth of their son.

He remains ruler of Kelantan and is reported to have wed another European beauty.

The judge set a further hearing for March and ruled the ex-King should pay his ex-wife’s legal costs of £15,000.

Meanwhile the sultan, known as Faris to his friends, has taken another European beauty as his new queen consort.

Czech-born Yana Yakubková, 35, is now known as Diana Petra Abdullah and was conferred the title of Sultanah of Kelantan on August 2.

The sultan is an animal-lover who has been described in his homeland as ‘calm, modest and has the people’s interests at heart.’

He is said to have hundreds of animals, including lions and buffalo, in his own mini safari park.

The dramatic breakdown of the relationship followed a whirlwind romance which saw the couple tie the knot in a glamorous wedding.

Sultan Muhammad began his reign as King of Malaysia in December 2016.

He secretly married Oksana in a low-key Islamic ceremony in Kelantan on June 7 2018 after reportedly meeting in Europe the previous year.

Recalling their extravagant reception in Moscow, Oksana has said previously: ‘It was like a fairytale because every girl dreams about a beautiful marriage and so my husband decided to make this present for me.’

Their summer wedding was followed by a glittering reception in Moscow which announced their unlikely union to the world.

Her son was said to have been conceived on a romantic Australian royal holiday just weeks after the ceremony.

The sultan took a leave of absence from his position as rumours of the wedding emerged.

Their marriage was greeted by shock in the conservative Malaysian state, not least because of the 23-year age gap.

And the union was met with unease by Islamic leaders despite his bride converting to the religion.

It was hit by further controversy when the Russian media ran claims that five years before meeting Faris, Oksana had taken part in a lurid reality TV show.

The facts remain in dispute but her friends say she was entirely open with the king about her past life as their jet-setting romance blossomed.

Yet by December he had gone and shortly after in January 2019, the Sultan abdicated the throne as the country’s 15th King, becoming the first monarch in the nation’s history to do so.

Their child was born on May 21, 2019.

Yet, just four weeks later, he abruptly divorced Oksana using the Triple Talaq Islamic procedure.

Under the practice a Muslim man ends his marriage by saying ‘You are divorced’ in Arabic three times.

Oksana has insisted she heard about it from the Internet.

There were claims the then king was furious that details leaked out about the Moscow wedding party when he had wanted it to remain hidden and ‘private’ – along with photos from the reality TV show of his wife in a swimming pool clinch with a male participant in Mexico.