City Lawyer Cleared Of Assaulting Wife

Court Arrival: Boris Telyatnikov

A partner in a leading City law firm, who lost his career when charged with assaulting his wife during a money row at their £2m home, has been cleared by a judge who condemned the woman’s lies.

Solicitor Boris Telyatnikov, 42, always denied grabbing the arm of pharmaceutical executive Sophie Voigt-Firon, who claimed he arrived home drunk, demanding she transfer £4,000 to his account.

“She previously lied to the defendant in the course of their relationship,” announced District Judge Rebecca Saillet. “She lied about having an affair, she lied about her bonus money and lied about hiring a private investigator.”

The intimate details of the power couple’s troubled marriage, during which they both had secret affairs, was publicly laid bare at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court during a tense trial last Friday.

Privately-educated Telyatnikov, the son of former Soviet Union diplomats, was found not guilty of assaulting Sophie on July 21, last year at the five-bedroom former matrimonial home in Surrey Lane, Battersea.

The lawyer arrived at the trial with a large entourage of legal experts and professional supporters, some of whom gave character evidence on his behalf.

He now lives in nearby Albany Mansions, Albert Bridge Road, but in January was forced to quit his partnership with Blackfriars firm Enyo Law, which specialises in ‘advising corporations and high net worth individuals in complex high-value proceedings.’

“I was in shock and did not know how to react,” Telyatnikov told the trial. “This was made up stuff and she seemed to be doing it to gain an upper hand in the divorce.”

Before their marriage in 2014 Sophie insisted on a pre-nuptial agreement. “She was worried about her family’s wealth and me having a claim on that,” Telyatnikov told the court.

“We had a substantial income. I am unemployed at the moment.”

Sophie Voigt-Firon & Catherine Pritchard-Gordon

The wife also lied her annual £50,000 bonus had not been paid and on the evening of the row Telyatnikov was demanding she pay half of the couple’s £8,000 per-month mortgage.

Giving evidence behind a screen she told the trial she was home with her mother, nanny Catherine Pritchard-Gordon and her eight year-old son asleep upstairs, when Telyatnikov returned at 9.30pm.

“He was unhappy to see my mother there and made a cut-throat gesture with his finger,” claimed Sophie. “He told my mother: ‘I want you out now.’

“I could tell he was drunk. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and he was angry, the expression in his eyes and the tone of his voice was angry, his body language was very angry.

“He said that as we were divorcing he could not keep giving me money and I should pay half of the mortgage.

“He said: ‘This is my f***ing money you c***. I’ve spent so much f***ing money on you, you c***.’

“Our marriage had broken down,” admitted Sophie. “I had an affair that I am not proud of and he had an affair with a colleague at work.”

She said during the row Telyatnikov said the couple would have to sack their £1,000 per-week nannies if she did not make the online bank transfer.

“I was holding my phone, but my hand was shaking with nerves as I was fumbling trying to open the banking app, but I think he thought I was recording him and went to grab my arm.

“I dropped my phone and said: ’Ouch, stop, this is hurting me and he did let go.’ It did hurt, it scared me, but excruciating pain? No.

“I was really scared and overwhelmed. Things got out of hand and I was worried about what would happen next, he was self-righteous in his anger.”

She called the police on the insistence of her nanny, with Telyatnikov having already called the emergency services to have his mother-in-law removed from the property.

“Do you think you have exaggerated some of the things that happened?” asked Christine Agnew KC, defending. “You’re exaggerating what happened for your own ends and see this allegation as a weapon in your divorce proceedings.”

Sophie insisted the assault occurred and was critical of her ex’s behaviour during the marriage. “I found out via a private detective he was having an affair.

“I suspected it for many years, it was with someone at work. The detective followed Boris twice and my family told me not to give him any more money.”

That is one reason she lied to Telyatnikov about not receiving her £50,000 annual bonus. “He clearly had enough money to come home drunk and took the money away from the nannies.”

The nanny, Mrs Pritchard-Gordon was also a prosecution witness, even though she was upstairs when the alleged assault occurred.

“I he
ard the door slam and footsteps downstairs and then the shouting, the confrontation between Boris and Sophie. I heard raised voices, particularly Boris and he was demanding money.

“He definitely referred to her as a ‘f***ing c***’ several times. Boris sounded really angry and I was worried for the child’s safety and my safety. I was scared actually.

“I heard Sophie say: ‘No Boris, don’t touch me,’ and she was visibly traumatised and pale. I thought she was going to collapse.”

Telyatnikov conceded the marriage was dogged by infidelity on both sides. “I once saw that she received a message from an unknown number that was sexually explicit and years later she confirmed it was from the same person she was having an affair with.

“I was devastated by what I found out and how long it had been going on for. I had an affair with a fellow-partner between Spring and August, last year.

He discovered his wife had him followed after discovering a £2,000 payment to a detective agency on a bank statement. “That was the end. I decided on divorce.”

Telyatnikov denied making the ‘cut-throat’ gesture when returning home to find his wife and mother-in-law drinking and eating pizza in front of the tv.

“Sophie’s mother is very volatile. I would not be surprised if she started shouting at me and throwing things at me and yes, I called the police.

“I was not drunk. I am a big guy and half a bottle of wine and some snacks will not get me drunk.” aded the lawyer, insisting he was 2-3 metres away from Sophie when she was on the phone.

“I did not grab her arm.”

Judge Saillet did not accuse the wife of lying on oath, but concluded:“The complainant’s evidence was clearly embellished from the account she gave to the police and the words she used come from the evidence of Mrs Pritchard-Gordon.

“She told the court she has not spoken to Mrs Pritchard-Gordon about the incident and that seems incredible given their close relationship and the nanny says they did talk about the incident.

“Why would he grab her wrist when she was doing what he wanted in transferring the money?

“Mr Telyatnikov gave evidence in a clear manner and denied putting hands on his wife and was consistent in what he said to police on arrest and in interview.

“He is a man of good character and this incident would have been totally out of character had it occurred in the manner explained by Mrs Voigt-Firon.”