A new step was taken in what could become the divorce of the year in Romania. The wife of Romania's wealthiest Dinu Patriciu (in picture), the only Romanian included in the Forbes list, is asking for half of his fortune, estimated in the court file at EUR 2.3 billion. Dana Patriciu filed for the state's public help in covering the 3 percent tax on the EUR 2.3 billion, which is due to be paid by the person asking for the division of the assets in divorce. The court will decide whether to exempt her from paying this fee in a secret session on February 13. The next court date in the division of assets is March 20.

Dana Patriciu said her husband gave away goods that belonged to the family, as he had an affair and his health was poor. She accuses him of having taken furniture and décor pieces and gifts from their house in Siliştea Snagovului and given them to his mistress, or signed them off to her. The Patriciu couple together own real estate, paintings, jewelry and shares in companies in several countries.

The high profile divorce is happening while Dinu Patriciu is recovering from liver transplant. He went through surgery in December last year, and is currently convalescing in London, according to Romanian media.

Patriciu's path has not been an easy one in 2012: some of his companies went insolvent – the retail businesses Mic.ro and MiniMax, and he sold Adevarul Holding in September last year to Cristian Burci.

Patriciu's wealth – estimated at some USD 1.9 billion by Forbes, making him the only Romanian billionaire in the list, was mostly fueled by his oil business. He used to own oil and gas company Rompetrol, which he sold in 2007 KazMunaiGaz (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned company, in a deal estimated to be worth around USD 3 billion, and went on to invest in retail, real estate and media.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source Mic.ro)