EXCLUSIVEBen Cohen could face more legal battles after failing to submit accounts for yoga studio which plunged £500,000 in debt
Embattled former Strictly star Ben Cohen could face more legal woes after failing to submit accounts for a yoga studio which plunged almost £500,000 in debt, MailOnline can reveal.
Embattled former Strictly star Ben Cohen could face more legal woes after failing to submit accounts for a yoga studio which plunged almost £500,000 in debt, MailOnline can reveal.
The 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, 45, admitted that the studios debts were straining his relationship with fiancée Kristina Rihanoff, 46, when he supported her appeal against a motoring conviction last Friday.
The revelation of more financial woes comes after Cohens bungled handling of the couples car insurance policy led to Rihanoff being dragged to court.
The couples financial woes appear to have begun when they co-founded a fitness and wellbeing studio called Soo Yoga in Northampton which then struggled to make money during the pandemic.
Companies House records show that the Soo Yoga Group Ltd was £488,470 in the red in its last submitted set of accounts for the year ending on July 31, 2022.
Kristina Rihanoff pictured with her husband Ben Cohen during one of their outdoor yoga classes
The 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, 45, admitted that the studios debts were straining his relationship with fiancée Kristina Rihanoff. (The couple pictured on BBCs Strictly Come Dancing)
Accounts for the year ending on July 31, 2023, were due to be filed by April 30 this year - but have still not been submitted.
Company directors can be personally fined and left with a criminal record for not filing accounts on time, which is usually nine months after the end of their firms financial year.
Cohen and Rihanoff fell for each other after they partnered on the 11th series of Strictly in 2013 - despite him being married at the time.
They started Soo Yoga Group together in June 2017, but Rihanoff stepped down as a director and transferred her 50 per cent shareholding to Cohen in September 2022.
The studios website says it offers a range of holistic classes including yoga, pilates, dance, cycling, spin, Hiit and meditation for a membership of £690 a year, or a pay-as-you-go rate of ten classes for £120.
Its debts include an outstanding £190,000 loan made to Soo Yoga Group by a company called Bespoke Ballroom Ltd which is 50 per cent owned by Russian-born Kristina who is listed as an American citizen.
The company was listed to be compulsorily struck off on December 27, 2022, but the action was suspended nine days later and discontinued on April 28, 2023.
Cohen laid bare his marital and money problems after Russia-born Kristina was caught driving her £30,000 Audi Q3 in Northampton on April 4 without insurance.
The couple started Soo Yoga Group together in June 2017, but Rihanoff stepped down as a director and transferred her 50 per cent shareholding to Cohen in September 2022
The pair fell for each other after they were partnered up on the 11th series of Strictly in 2013
The incident was allegedly due to his blunder in failing to ensure her car was insured, and led to her being given six penalty points, meaning she faced an automatic ban under totting up for having 12 points.
Kristina appealed against her conviction at Northampton Crown Court on Friday when Cohen gave evidence to say that he was responsible for the incident.
The former member of Englands victorious World Cup rugby winning squad in 2003 revealed that he had been hit by money problems which had left him fighting to save his relationship and home.
Cohen said: I get up every day and I fight not to lose everything - to lose my cars and my house and my relationship. Im so overdrawn.
When questioned about the strains on his and Rihanoffs relationship, he said: Were still living together. Were in it financially.
Were in business together so the problem is that we opened the business before Covid and we got the worst severities of it and in all honestly this is just another problem for me to deal with.
Ive got credit cards that are overdrawn. Im overdrawn in both accounts. We have got a business debt because of Covid. Its just another problem. Cohen confirmed that he had been solely responsible for sourcing insurance for the couples cars.
He told how he had been searching for cheaper insurance online at the end of February after being quoted £7,500 by Aviva, and had taken out a policy with Dial Direct on February 22, paying monthly by direct debit.
The former member of Englands victorious World Cup rugby winning squad in 2003 revealed that he had been hit by money problems. (Kristina Rihanoff and Ben Cohen seen attending ITV Summer Party in 2023)
Kristina Rihanoff pictured at her Sooyogauk company that she owns with her husband Ben Cohen
In March he was abroad when he received a text message telling him Dial Direct were going to cancel his insurance unless he sent them his no claims details.
He said he didnt have a no claims bonus, so he did not send any details to the company and did not respond, so the policy was cancelled on March 7.
Kristina was stopped driving uninsured in Northampton town centre on April 4.
When police officers phoned Cohen, he immediately tried to take out another policy with the same company.
He told the court: I 100 per cent did not know that policy would be cancelled because the no claims information theyd been asking for wasnt relevant to me. Cohen added: I didnt know until I got that call from Kristina then I was (saying), What are you on about? He also admitted he had not asked Kristina about the dates of her previous speeding offences before taking out the policy.
Kritstina sobbed throughout the hearing and had to leave the court room holding her hands over her mouth because she felt sick.
She spent the rest of the hearing wrapped in a white blanket holding a tissue to her eyes.
She told the court she needed to drive to judge ballroom competitions across the country, which earned her £2,000-a-month, and to take her children to school.
Recorder Louise Cox rejected her appeal, but told Kristina she had every sympathy with her.
She said: We find you had an honest belief you were insured but dont accept that belief was reasonable grounds to account for your lack of insurance. The judge said that Kristina should have made sure she was insured before driving, and ordered her to pay £357 in appeal costs.
Records also real that a food services company called Soo Greens Ltd which is 100 per cent owned by Soo Yoga Group Ltd was effectively £6,633 in the red, taking into account future liabilities, in its last accounts for the period ending on July 31, 2020.
The companys accounts for the year ending in July 2021 have still not been filed and are now nearly 29 months overdue.
Another company called Soo Purple Mountain Ltd which is also owned by the Soo Yoga Group, was set up in December 2021 and dissolved by a voluntary strike off in February this year without ever filing accounts.
A fourth company called Soo Group Ltd which was half owned by Cohen and half owned by three other people was also incorporated and voluntarily struck off on the same dates.
A fifth company called Yoga Wellbeing which is 100 percent owned by Kristina was £5,041 in the red, taking into account future liabilities, at the end of July 2020. Its accounts are also nearly 29 months overdue, according to Companies House records.
Kristina left Strictly in 2015 after falling pregnant with Cohens daughter, now eight.
Earlier last year, Cohen said his relationship with Kristina had been strengthened by difficult times in business ahead of their wedding.
He told HELLO! magazine: Over the last nine years weve been through the wringer.
To support each other through difficult times in business is the ultimate test in a relationship.
Ive watched her flourish, from her becoming a mum to growing as a businesswoman, and it has strengthened our bond. They told the magazine that they plan to make the big day a family affair with their daughter and Bens twin daughters, both 15, from his marriage to first wife Abby Blayney Cohen, serving as bridesmaids.
