How this tiny Koran set off a legal battle royal

Hundreds of years old and said to be worth millions, a tiny handwritten copy of the Koran tucks snugly into a jewel-encrusted silver case the size of a matchbox.

The miniature treasure is hidden in a safety deposit box, the subject of a feud involving a group of enterprising businessmen, a former KGB agent and one of the world's richest and most powerful men, the Sultan of Brunei.

The unlikely venue of the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney is likely to host the next chapter in an extraordinary tale that began halfway around the world in Moscow.

Michael McGurk and David Rahme had travelled to Russia from their base in Australia to acquire the distribution rights to what was once top secret technology developed by the Soviet military. They had high hopes that 'thermoelectric cells' used to cool and heat space rockets could be adapted to replace air conditioning in cars.

But it was an introduction to a former KGB officer that led to solicitors being instructed last week to lodge a writ against the sultan, his private secretary and two other men. The agent was touting several books, including the hexagonal leather-bound Koran that sparked the entrepreneurs' attention.

Expert analysis later dated the fragile book measuring just 7cm in diameter to the 16th or 17th century, and intricate gold markings suggested it was made for a wealthy person, or even royalty, as a sacred object of blessing. The businessmen agreed to take the book back to Australia, where 'word of mouth' efforts began to attract bidders.