Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich emerged victorious on Friday from a long and hugely expensive legal battle with his former friend Boris Berezovsky that laid bare the murky dealings behind the post-Soviet carve-up of Russia’s vast natural resources.
Judge Elizabeth Gloster told a packed London courtroom that she had found Berezovsky to be an “unimpressive and inherently unreliable witness” who would say “almost anything to support his case”.
In comparison, Abramovich – a businessman known in Britain for his ownership of Chelsea soccer club – was described as a “truthful and on the whole reliable witness”.
Berezovsky, a fast-talking former mathematician who became a Kremlin powerbroker under the late President Boris Yeltsin only to fall foul of Vladimir Putin, had accused Abramovich of using the threat of Kremlin retribution to intimidate him into selling assets at a knockdown price.
Abramovich, the world’s 68th richest man with a US$12.1 billion fortune, had denied the accusations and said he merely paid Berezovsky for political cover and protection - known in Russian slang as “krysha” or “roof”.
“There was a marked contrast between the manner in which Mr Berezovsky gave his evidence and that in which Mr Abramovich did so,” the judge said as she delivered her ruling to an expressionless Berezovsky.