MOSCOW, April 29 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) – Natalia Potanina, ex-wife of Russian tycoon Vladimir Potanin, filed a lawsuit with Moscow's Presnensky District Court claiming a share in Russia's Norilsk Nickel, the world's second largest nickel producer, and Cyprus-based Interros International Investments Limited, a source familiar with the situation told RAPSI on Wednesday.

Under the Russian Family Code, the property acquired during a marriage is considered community property and therefore should be divided into equal parts in a divorce.

Natalia Potanina said she had filed a lawsuit to assume the ownership of 50 percent of her ex-husband’s stake in Norilsk Nickel and half of Interros International, which holds their other assets, which are considerable.

In February 2014, a magistrate ruled in favor of Potanin’s request for divorce. In late June, a court granted Potanin’s petition to change the procedure for the payment of child alimony on behalf of his underage son. The court allowed Potanin to transfer 50 percent of the agreed upon alimony amount to a deposit account for his son Vasily, 16, until he comes of age.

Natalia Potanina appealed both court rulings, but a higher-instance court upheld these rulings and they are legally binding.

Vladimir Potanin is one of the wealthiest men in Russia, with an estimated net worth of $12.7 billion (Forbes 2014).