Multi-millionaire heir to the Siemens fortune blew £33,000 in burlesque bars while failing to pay £100,000 child support for his two young daughters, court hears

A member of one of Europe’s wealthiest families spent thousands of dollars at a trendy burlesque bar while failing to pay child support for his two young daughters, a family court heard yesterday.

Bjoern von Siemens – whose great-grandfather founded the £100 billion-plus German electronics and telecommunications giant – charged more than £33,000 to his credit card while visiting The Box nightclub in New York and London.

The club in London’s Soho has a minimum spend of between £2,000 and £3,000 per night and is known for its erotic and burlesque shows.

The lavish spending came to light during a family court hearing into Mr Von Siemen’s failure to pay maintenance for his children aged two and three after the end of his three-and-a-half year marriage.

His estranged wife Leah, 36, attended a court hearing in central London as her lawyer tried to have Mr Von Siemens declared in contempt of court for failing to pay child support.

Bjoern von Siemens, 41, spent thousands of dollars at a burlesque bar in London while failing to pay child support for his two young daughters

Her 41-year-old ex-husband was unable to attend the hearing and submitted a medical certificate in German to excuse his absence.

The court was told he had attended an awards ceremony the evening before the hearing at the court in Holborn, central London.

His lawyer Grant Armstrong said he had agreed to pay the full £100,000 arrears by October 18, with the contempt of court order suspended.

Before the agreement, the details of his “shocking” expenses were laid bare in a skeleton argument presented to the court by Ms von Siemen’s counsel, Joe Rainer.

The court was told the couple had a pre-nup agreement with Mr von Siemen’s assets at the time of the marriage listed at £46.5 million with an annual income of up to £800,000.

Since divorcing his wife, the court document shows he has not paid child support of £15,000 a month.

The document stated that he has continued to live a life of luxury with private jets, extravagant jewelry purchases, luxury cars and extensive luxury travel.

Mr Rainer wrote in his submission that Mr von Siemen has incurred legal fees of £600,000 as part of the divorce proceedings.

Von Siemens has claimed through his lawyers that his annual income is far below the amount recorded in the marriage contract.

His estranged wife Leah, 36, was attending a court hearing in central London when her lawyer tried to have Mr Von Siemens found in contempt of court for failing to pay child support.

Mr Rainer wrote in his argument: ‘The complicating feature of this case is the enormous difference between the presentation of his wealth in the prenuptial agreement and the standard of living of the marriage, which was extraordinary even by the standard this court is accustomed to to see. ‘

An investigation into Mr Von Siemens’ expenses revealed that during the months he did not pay maintenance, he spent £21,000 in one night at The Box nightclub in New York City.

He also spent £10,000 on a stay at the famous Soho club venue.

Other expenses include £12,000 at The Box in London and £4,500 on home gym equipment.

“Examination of statements shows ruthless spending on luxury restaurants, hotels, personal Amazon purchases, private chauffeur services and, strangely, Deliveroo,” the document said.

‘His response is that these expenses are almost exclusively for business purposes. The court should not be misled by this half-baked misappropriation.”

The skeleton argument was that Von Siemens uses corporate credit cards linked to a Berlin-based company called Lindberg Equity and Management. He also has access to a family trust known as BVS.

Von Siemens is the founder of a healthcare company called Caresyntax, a global leader in surgical analytics and automation.

The company’s goal is to make surgery safer and their data platform is used in more than 2,800 operating rooms worldwide.

Von Siemen’s great-grandfather founded the electronics giant in 1847 and the company is estimated to be worth more than £110 billion. Family members share millions in dividend payments from the billion-dollar turnover.

Von Siemens is said to have charged more than £33,000 to his credit card during his visit to The Box nightclub in New York and London.

His Harvard-educated ex-wife, who went to court with her mother, is an investor who works in health care.

The 15-page document submitted to the court revealed that Von Siemens lives in a £25,000-a-month flat in central London and had given his Romanian girlfriend, called Beatrice Iordache, £150,000 last year.

Other expenses included £1,500 on clothes from luxury men’s store Boggi in Milan.

“The evidence shows that (he) has discretion to spend on the credit cards paid by monthly direct debit of funds required to be in businesses derived from (his) work,” Mr. Rainer wrote.

Family Court Judge Evans-Gordon agreed to allow Mr von Siemens to pay the arrears by October 18, with a date for another hearing yet to be set.