Greek shipowner Victor Restis is still pursuing money owed to him by British businesswoman Amanda Staveley after forcing a company of hers into liquidation.
In March, the tycoon won his UK High Court claim for repayment of part of a £10m ($13.25m) loan made to the Newcastle United football club director in 2008.
Staveley was ordered to repay nearly £3.5m.
The Financial Times cited both sides as saying that the sum has now been transferred.
But Staveley’s UK-registered Apollo Belvedere Services was liquidated by a London judge last week following a petition filed by Restis, according to both parties.
This was because Restis has also been trying to recover interest payments on the loan.
Last week, he rejected a £1.6m settlement offer from Apollo as too little.
Staveley, who controls 10% of the Premier League side with her husband, had disputed the interest bill was more than this amount.
The Greek owner told the Financial Times that he would now attempt to bring in insolvency experts to examine Apollo’s affairs.
The March ruling showed Restis had initially demanded £36m, but Staveley’s legal team said he then set his maximum interest claim at £30m.
No duress proven
The FT reported Staveley’s lawyers had previously argued in court that some agreements had been signed under duress.
But Judge Daniel Schaffer found that Restis was merely acting as “a businessman who would take a tough position on substantial monies which had been owed to him for a considerable period of time”.
TradeWinds has reported that the shipowner launched the legal claim in June 2023 to try to push London-based entrepreneur Staveley into bankruptcy and wind up her company.
The loan was received by Staveley when she was working with Middle Eastern investors to bail out the stricken lender Barclays Bank during the global financial crisis.
The purposes of the payment in September 2008 were disputed, with conflicting reports about whether it was a loan or an investment that was later converted to a loan.
Staveley was involved in the United Arab Emirates takeover of Manchester City and the Saudi-backed purchase of Newcastle United in 2021.
Restis’ Enterprises Shipping & Trading is the technical or commercial manager for 32 vessels, mainly bulk carriers and tankers, according to Equasis.
