'Poor ' : Sergei Pugachev , who was once branded 'Putin 's banker ' , said the order has made it difficult for he and his partner , Alexandra Tolstoy , pictured together , to support their home . A Russian tycoon exiled in London who is fighting a freeze on his £1.3billion in assets by the High Court has claimed he is now a 'poor man ' who can not afford to support his family . Sergei Pugachev , who was once branded 'Putin 's banker ' , said the order has made it difficult for him and his partner , Alexandra Tolstoy , to support their home . Last year it was reported the couple , who have three children and own a £12million house , employ two housekeepers , three nannies , two drivers and a live-in doctor . And Ms Tolstoy , 41 , said it was hard to live on the £10,000-a-week allowed by the court . Mr Pugachev , the former billionaire business partner of the Queen 's nephew Viscount Linley is accused in Moscow of siphoning more than £655million in funds from Mezhprombank , which filed for insolvency in 2010 , including $ 700 million in Russian Central Bank bailout money . The 52-year-old former tycoon , who denies any wrongdoing , complained the freeze has left him unable to support Tolstoy who said last year it was hard to live on the £10,000 a week allowed by the court . ' I can be called a poor man . I do not have money to support my family and my property , and this is more important than paying the lawyers , ' he told Vedomosti newspaper in Moscow , blaming the arrest of his bank accounts and assets . He said he has borrowed $ 5 million towards his $ 10 million legal bill , but was now unable to take more loans because his assets were frozen . As a result , he has dispensed with his lawyers . Last year , his socialite partner - a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy - said 'we are just surviving ' on the £10,000 a week allowance . The Deposit Insurance Agency in Moscow , which is taking the legal action , claim the 'statements of his partner Alexandra Tolstoy ' about their lifestyle belie 'his declarations about financial difficulties ' . A source claimed his move to dispense with his British lawyers 'looks like a tactical trick and is aimed at making obstacles for English justice ' . Last week a London Court of Appeal judge ruled that Pugachev , also previously nicknamed 'cashier to the Kremlin ' , must disclose further information about trusts he uses to bolster his income . Lavish : Last year it was reported the couple , pictured together , who have three children and own a £12million house , employ two housekeepers , three nannies , two drivers and a live-in doctor . 'Sophisticated and wily operators should not be able to make themselves immune to the courts ' orders , ' said the judge . Pugachev claims he is the victim of a 'politically motivated ' asset grab by figures in the Russan elite of which he was a member before fleeing to London . His property was 'expropriated by the state and by private persons ' , and sold at rock bottom prices , he claimed . He also alleged in court that a senior Deposit Insurance Agency official earlier made ' a brazen attempt to extort money ' from him , and threatened that 'he or his family could be physically harmed ' . In November , Interpol put Pugachev on its wanted list at Russia 's request , with Putin 's spokesman alleging : 'He built up huge amounts of debts and then ran away . ' Struggle : Ms Tolstoy , pictured , said 'she and her husband are just surviving ' on the £10,000 a week allowance . Faced by the legal moves in Moscow , Pugachev in October blasted Putin , claiming all Russian businessmen are now 'serfs ' under his total control . 'Today in Russia there is no private property . There are only serfs who belong to Putin , ' he told the Financial Times , in a blunt warning over the collapse of regulated capitalism in his homeland . 'Now there is Putin and there are his lieutenants who carry out his orders - and all cash generated is put on the balance of Putin , ' he alleged . 'The country is in a state of war . And therefore big business can not live as before . It has to live under military rules . ' He alleged : 'If Putin says he wants to buy something , you can not say that you do not want to sell . 'If he says ' I want to buy something ' then you say , 'Thanks for saying you want to buy it , and not just taking it . '
Sergei Pugachev , 41 , had his £1.3billion assets frozen by the High Court over Russian probe . Accused of siphoning more than £655million in funds from Mezhprombank . He complains freeze has left him unable to support his partner and children . Mr Pugachev and Alexandra Tolstoy live in £12million house in London . Their staff reportedly includes three nannies , two drivers and live-in doctor .