A London high court has ruled that the Russian ex-boyfriend of British supermodel Naomi Campbell must stand down as CEO of luxury villa operator Amanresorts, a position he assumed during a power struggle with the company's other partner, The Wall St. Journal reported Monday.
Russian tycoon Vladislav Doronin and U.S. entrepreneur Omar Amanat bought Amanresorts International, which has 26 high-end resorts worldwide, for $358 million earlier this year, but the pair fell out when Doronin, 51, announced in May that he would take over the role of CEO from Adrian Zecha, the Indonesia-born hotelier who founded the company in 1988.
Amanat said that Doronin, founder of Moscow-based property development company Capital Group, did not have the backing of the U.K.-incorporated company's board when removing Zecha, 81, and took him to court, the report said.
A high court judge on Monday sided with Amanat and Zecha, reinstating the latter as CEO of Amanresorts, which can charge more than $1,000 per night for rooms in its lavish bungalows.
Following the ruling, Amanat said he was glad that Zecha, a former journalist for Time magazine, was CEO again and that he would be given the chance to "retire in a manner of his own choosing," according to The Wall St. Journal.
Doronin — who was in a relationship with Campbell between 2008 and 2013, despite still being technically married to his long-estranged wife at the time — said that he would challenge the court's decision.
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