Italian prince who spoilt new girlfriend was ‘not of sound mind’ and wants a refund

An Italian prince who showered his young lover with hundreds of thousands of euros in property and cash gifts, is now claiming he was conned, and argued that he was of unsound mind because of his messy divorce.

51-year-old Prince Giacomo Bonanno di Linguaglossa fell for 36-year-old Belarusian Tanya Yashenko at a dinner party. The pair struck up a romance, and the prince took his new girlfriend on expensive holidays around the globe, bought her a Mercedes GLC 220 worth €83,000 (£69,300), paid €18,000 (£15,000) in rent on her behalf for an apartment in central Rome, granted her a €58,000 (£48,000) share in a boutique bed and breakfast, and gave her about €80,000 (£67,000) in cash.

After two years the couple split and the prince has now embarked on a legal battle against his ex-lover as he wants the gifts to be returned. The aristocrat claims that he had been left traumatised after separating from his wife and that as a result, he could not make cogent decisions.

His lawyers have cited an Italian legal concept called "Circonvenzione d'incapace", which means "Exerting undue influence over persons who are not in their right mind". The claim is that Ms Yashenko took advantage of the generosity of her boyfriend, and had behaved like "A sugar baby". According to court documents cited by the Italian press, she called the prince "A cheapskate" and "A bum".

Initially, he was apologetic, at one point writing to her: "I'm deeply sorry…on Monday morning I will go to the bank and pay for the car. The rent is already paid. I love you. I'm mortified." Ms Yashenko was contacted for comment.

Mandy Peters Solicitors 

Lewisham