The super rich Graff Diamond dust-up

Francois Graff and Dmitry Tsvetkov opening the Limassol venture in 2015. Mr Tsvetkov’s £22 million home in Surrey and his wife, Elsina Khayrova
Francois Graff and Dmitry Tsvetkov opening the Limassol venture in 2015. Mr Tsvetkov’s £22 million home in Surrey and his wife, Elsina Khayrova

There were rich men and glamorous women, superyachts were berthed in the harbour, the Cristal flowed and, of course, there were diamonds.

On Instagram, Graff Diamonds spoke of gems and models “scintillating in the sun” at the May 2015 opening of its boutique at the elite Limassol Marina, Cyprus. Centre stage were Francois Graff, 55, chief executive of the renowned jewellery company, and Dmitry Tsvetkov, the Russian-born British citizen he had entrusted to run the Cypriot franchise.

Within three years, however, the sparkle was gone. The Graff store in the marina is closed, Equix, the company behind it, is in administration and Mr Tsvetkov and two Russian business partners are locked in an acrimonious spiral of legal claim and counterclaim.

Papers filed in the High