Nina Wang - the richest woman in Hong Kong - has been ordered to pay millions of dollars of dividends from disputed shares into a court account.

The ruling from Hong Kong's Court of Appeal is part of a series of legal actions surrounding the estate of Ms Wang's late husband Teddy which is said to be worth around $3.5bn.

In-laws' legal fight

Both Teddy Wang's father and wife claim to be his sole beneficiary They are fighting over his $3.5bn fortune Ms Wang says he wrote a new will a month before he was kidnapped, never to be seen again The elder Mr Wang says that is a lie

Ms Wang's father-in-law says she faked a will for her own profit while the administrators of her husband's estate accuse her of expropriating company shares.

Teddy Wang was kidnapped in April 1990 and though his family paid a $33m ransom, he was never seen again. His was declared legally dead in September 1999.

Within months of Mr Wang's disappearance, 19,998 main shares in Hong Kong company Chime Corporation Limited - part of the Chinachem Group - had been transferred to Ms Wang.

At the same time, 15 million minor shares in the company were allotted to Ms Wang.

The administrators of Mr Wang's estate - who are trying to preserve his assets until it is decided who will inherit them - argued that Ms Wang had illegally taken control of the shares.

The appeal court upheld the view of a lower court judge that Ms Wang should pay the $192m earned from dividends in the minor shares into a court-appointed account as security in case she loses the battle for the estate.

Will questions

Mr Wang's father, Wang Din-shin, said his son made a will naming him sole beneficiary after learning Ms Wang had allegedly been unfaithful to him.

Ms Wang says her husband gave her all the money in another will written a month before he was kidnapped.

Legal action on whether Nina Wang is the rightful owner of the Chime shares and on who is Mr Wang's beneficiary are yet to be settled.

Forbes magazine recently estimated Nina Wang's fortune at $2.4bn.