Prokhorov made headlines in early March 2010 when he was forced to forfeit a £36 million deposit he had placed on the £360 million Villa Leopolda in the French Riviera in 2008. Under French property law, once an initial sale contract has been signed, a deposit can be refunded only during a seven-day cooling-off period. On 2 March 2010, a court at Nice in France ruled that the villa's owner, 71-year-old Lily Safra, could keep the £36 million deposit, plus £1 million in interest.