A former banker embroiled in a bitter divorce case has been cleared of allegations that he sunk funds into a tiger conservation charity for his own personal benefit.
Stuart Bray and his wife Li Quan had set up Save China’s Tigers in 2000, with the project subsequently endorsed by Jackie Chan and Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes.
But after the couple’s marriage broke down two years ago, Ms Quan had accused her husband of putting money into the charity’s £25m trust to deny her of her share of their fortune.
However, Mr Justice Coleridge this week ruled that there was no evidence of impropriety or any ulterior motive and that the trust had been established with the sole intention of helping the dwindling tiger population.
In a written ruling he concluded: “The wife is a very intelligent person but she has become blinded by her desire for revenge and this has led her to fabricate where she thinks it will assist her case.”
By contrast, the judge said that he had found Mr Bray’s evidence to be “clear, detailed and consistent.”
David Thomas, an advisor for Save China’s Tigers, said: “The untrue allegations made by Ms Quan have been damaging to the charity.
“Now that the court has so clearly exonerated both the charity and its officers of any wrongdoing, we will strive to restore the charity’s reputation.”
Ms Quan has said she was “surprised and disappointed” by the outcome and would appeal against the ruling.