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ESPNsoccernet: England | |
The Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has won a £3 billion court case after a judge rejected claims made against him by his fellow Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
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Berezovsky claimed Abramovich had "intimidated" him into selling shares in the Russian Sibneft oil company for a fraction of their value and had also broken a promise made in an aluminium company deal.
The 66-year-old alleged blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract, making his claims during a High Court case that began in October 2011 and ended this January. He claimed £3 billion in damages.
But a judge in London rejected the allegations against 45-year-old Abramovich. Ruling in his favour, Mrs Justice Gloster said 66-year-old Berezovsky was an "unreliable" witness, who had at times given "deliberately dishonest" evidence.
In a summary of her judgment, she said: "On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept which could be moulded to suit his current purposes."
She said of Berezovsky - present to hear the ruling: "I regret to say that the bottom line of my analysis of Mr Berezovsky's credibility is that he would have said almost anything to support his case."
A statement issued on behalf of Abramovich said: "There were many serious allegations made against Mr Abramovich by Mr Berezovsky, including attacks on Mr Abramovich's honesty and integrity.
"We are pleased that the judge has firmly rejected all such allegations and has described Mr Abramovich as a truthful and frank witness who showed a responsible and honest approach when giving evidence in this case.
"He stated from the outset that there was no merit to the allegations made by Mr Berezovsky, and this position has now been comprehensively vindicated by the court."