An eccentric new friend entered her life. Then things took a strange, expensive turn

Ekaterina Barrett was a familiar sight in Mayfair and Monaco - some of Europe's most exclusive addresses.

The apparent multi-millionaire loved high fashion, and wore flamboyant designer clothes while walking her Italian greyhounds.

She was known for gambling in casinos and spending big money in high-end boutiques. But she was also someone who could "get you to do things you would never do", says British shop owner Bridget Hutchcroft.

She was "like a snake".

Hutchcroft - who is owed more than £1.6m ($2.1m) by Barrett - is one of many former friends and associates who accuse the 69-year-old of being a fraudster.

Eight years on, Hutchcroft has engaged lawyers to pursue Barrett in Lichtenstein, Austria, Monaco and Israel - but the debt remains outstanding.

And Barrett's glamorous life appears to be unravelling.

For Bridget Hutchcroft, the financial conflict began with a simple favour: dog-sitting.

Hutchcroft runs a second-hand designer clothes shop in Knightsbridge, London, called Pandora Dress Agency. It's well-loved and unpretentious, with Chanel and Dior handbags dangling from the ceiling, and shelves of crystal-embellished heels.

Hutchcroft, 66, took over the business in the late 1980s and grafted to make it a success. Back in 2017, Barrett was an occasional client, someone with whom Hutchcroft had barely spoken.

Barrett was known to be "very bossy", with a "pay-attention-to-me, deal-with-me type of attitude", says Sona Patel, the shop manager.

The first time they properly met, Hutchcroft thought Barrett looked wealthy but nothing out of the ordinary for that part of town.

One summer's day Hutchcroft says she noticed Barrett struggling to park her Bentley on the narrow side street - she usually had a driver.

When Barrett came into the shop, Hutchcroft says Barrett was flustered and told her she needed to someone to look after the dogs while she went to Harrods.

Hutchcroft offered to help.

"And then after that Ekaterina said: 'You must come to my house. I will send my car.'"

Over the next few months, Hutchcroft started making regular trips to Barrett's Mayfair apartment to look after the dogs.

Walking them in nearby Hyde Park felt like "good therapy", Hutchcroft says. She was recovering from a breakdown and had been recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

She began spending a lot more time with Barrett.

"It was a bit looser than a friendship - it was more intrigue," says Hutchcroft, noting Barrett appeared to love playing the VIP in fashion houses and members' clubs.

"It was like being at the theatre - I wanted to know what would happen next."

Then, three months after the two women first met, things took a strange turn.

Hutchcroft says she found Barrett sobbing uncontrollably, saying the man who managed her business affairs had suddenly died.

She says Barrett told her she needed a short-term loan due to a temporary cash flow issue.

Hutchcroft says she was happy to help at first, but the requests kept coming. She says Barrett began begging and pleading. All this at a time when Hutchcroft was swinging between episodes of mania and depression.

"She creates this havoc around you," says Hutchcroft, who remembers her phone ringing constantly.

"So in the end you just say, 'OK, OK, I'll help you'. I never even thought she might not give it back."

The loans kept adding up, and eventually topped more than £1m ($1.3m) - money Hutchcroft says was in her account after a property sale and which was earmarked to fund her grandson's education, pay a tax bill and facilitate her retirement.

It was only after an intervention from friends - and as her mental health began to stabilise - that she realised how much money she had transferred.

Hutchcroft went to the police, but was told they wouldn't investigate as it was a civil matter.

So she engaged a lawyer and sued.

"I worked for everything I've got since the age of 15," says Hutchcroft, who grew up in a working-class household in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. "So I'm not gonna let some rich woman take my money off me."

Hutchcroft - who now believes Barrett took advantage of her mental health problems to manipulate her into parting with her money - had no idea what she was getting into.

Barrett responded with a countersuit. She insisted Hutchcroft actually owed her money and called the allegations against her "vexatious". In court papers, she said she was unaware of the extent of Hutchcroft's mental health problems at the time.

Years of legal back-and-forth ensued, until the women finally reached an out-of-court settlement in 2021 - four years after they had met. Barrett did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to pay Hutchcroft £1m plus interest, with the funds to be raised through the sale of her London flat.

When Barrett didn't pay, Hutchcroft returned to the High Court, which issued a final judgement in 2022, raising the debt to £1.6m, including interest.

Hutchcroft received one payment of £100,000 - and then nothing more.

Shortly afterwards, Barrett's luxury Mayfair apartment was repossessed. She had failed to pay the mortgage.

"I think she thought she would outrun me," says Hutchcroft. "But I am not the type to give up."

Years later, in July 2024, the two women found themselves face to face again at London's High Court. Ekaterina Barrett turned up wearing a designer dress with a hood she would pull up and down dramatically throughout proceedings.

Hutchcroft was optimistic, thinking this hearing might be the end of the road for their legal conflict. "I think she's gonna be given a prison sentence," she says.

Barrett was at court to answer new allegations of forgery and perjury. The judge handed her a four-month suspended sentence for lying under oath about her assets and submitting faked documents as evidence, including forging Hutchcroft's signature.

She was also ordered to pay a £100,000 fine. The deadline was in February 2025. It remains unpaid.

In March last year, I got a tip-off that Barrett was facing another court case in Monaco.

She had been charged with stealing a pair of Balenciaga boots from a luxury store in Monte Carlo in December 2024.

The prosecution said CCTV showed her going into the fitting rooms with boots which cost more than €1,000 (£860; $1,150), then coming out saying they didn't fit.

Barrett's bag was covered with her scarf when she left the shop - and staff said the boots weren't found in the fitting room.

Her lawyer, Clyde Billard, pled for full acquittal, arguing there was no proof and she could afford them. He described her as a big client of Monaco luxury stores.

The second charge was for stealing €1,550 (£1,340; $1,790) from an acquaintance's bag at the five-star Hotel Metropole.

Barrett again denied the theft and her lawyer said she had permission to take it. The owner of the bag - a personal stylist - said that wasn't true.

Barrett was found guilty of both criminal offences and fined €5,000 (£4,315; $5,760). She is appealing the convictions.

" It's just unbelievable," Hutchcroft says. "She must get something out of it. Adrenaline?"

Following another court hearing, Barett is facing eviction from the multi-million-pound apartment in Monaco she has called home for years. She has failed to pay the mortgage.

The court has ruled the property will be seized and sold at auction to cover the debt.

Multiple creditors are now chasing Barrett for unpaid debts, including another former friend who has successfully sued her in Liechtenstein for £2.7m ($3.6m).

With so many court cases and allegations, I decide to travel to Monte Carlo to see if Barrett would answer any questions.

Her apartment doesn't look wildly luxurious from the outside. It's set just off the seafront, in a 10-storey block with mirrored windows that reflect the sun.

It's in the so-called Golden Square - in the vicinity of the Monte Carlo Casino, the wealthy micro-state's biggest draw, where rows of neon Lamborghinis are parked outside.

Barrett is known to be a gambler, or former gambler. She was "notorious" in Mayfair's private casinos, according to various casino workers.

I first see her red hair through the bushes that surround the apartment complex.

She comes out dressed in white lace and a large sunhat, holding the arm of a woman who appears to be wearing a black uniform.

"No interviews," Barrett barks and threatens to call the police.

When I later present a full list of allegations against her via email, she writes back.

"The information gathered appears to rely on false and misleading information provided by hostile or malicious parties whose objective is to damage my reputation.

"The motivations behind this publication raise serious concerns about fairness, accuracy, and responsible journalism."

Back in London, more than eight years years since the two women first met, Hutchcroft is still determined to get some of her money back.

She is now trying to force the sale of a property Barrett is believed to own in Israel.

It remains unclear if Barrett is out of funds - or simply refusing to pay.

"I think somewhere along the line she has got a pot of gold and she knows never must she talk about it," says Hutchcroft.

"I can't believe she's ran herself to the wire and that she's got nothing but what's in her pockets."

Vicky Baker investigated this story for her podcast Fraudacious, a Novel production in association with BBC Studios