Breaking: Police Lock Up Buddha Bar!

Developing: Police swarmed Buddha Bar in the Meatpacking District this morning, padlocking the restaurant-club's entrance due to ownership squabbles. -

This is the latest twist in the bizarre story of Arkady “Badri” Patarkatsishvili, a Russian oligarch--he was the richest man in Georgia at the time of his death in February 2008 at the age of 52--with vast media, business and international real estate holdings, including Buddha Bar. Following his death, former business partner Boris Berezovsky claimed half of Patarkatsishvili's estimated $12 billion estate.

Just how Badri's estate and its troubles are involved in this morning's padlocking remains unclear, but more details to come...