Last week, news erupted claiming Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi avoided losing half of his fortune to his ex-wife, Spanish actress Hiba Abouk, by transferring his assets to his mother, Saida Mouh. However, recent reports have dubbed these claims as "fake news."
The Moroccan international was said to have successfully protected his assets from a potential divorce settlement by putting most of them under his mother's name, even reportedly having his salary paid directly into her bank account. While some praised Hakimi for this supposed move, French journalist and sports reporter Gilles Verdez dismissed the allegations as untrue in an article published on Le 10 Sport.
Verdez stated, "It's not true... that he put the property in his mother's name, that wouldn't be possible." He explained that such an arrangement would be infeasible in France, Spain, or Morocco.
Simon Bruce, a partner at high net worth family law firm Dawson Cornwell, concurred that this tactic would not be legally viable in the UK either. "Putting your wealth into the name of your mother or anyone else in order to prevent your wife getting hold of it would be a massive own goal in English divorce proceedings. The whistle would be blown on any behavior like that in an English court," he said.
Bruce emphasized that in the UK, any attempts to bypass the divorce settlement in such a manner would result in assets being frozen and the mother being regarded as holding the money on behalf of the footballer.
Omar El Adlouni, a professor at La Sorbonne, supported these claims in a LinkedIn post, stating that transferring assets to evade a divorce settlement is a criminal act under European laws. The only legal way for the couple to maintain separate assets throughout their marriage would be through a prenuptial agreement.
Additionally, Hakimi would have faced significant taxes if he had transferred his assets to his mother, along with the possibility of imprisonment for up to five years for tax evasion.
Interestingly, Hakimi's mother has stated that she was unaware of her son's fortune being in her name, but would support him if true. "If he has taken any action to protect himself, I'm unaware of it," she said, adding, "If my son doesn't do this, he couldn't get rid of this woman."
