Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska on Monday challenged a court ruling that a lawsuit brought against him by a former friend should be heard in Britain rather than Russia.
A High Court judge ruled in July last year that the claimant, Michael Cherney, was entitled to a hearing in Britain to ensure he got a fair trial and protection from the risk of "assassination or arrest on trumped-up charges".
However, Deripaska's lawyers argued before the Court of Appeal on Monday that the earlier ruling was wrong, as it effectively alleged that Russia was unable to exercise its sovereignty by administering justice.
Cherney, who lives in Israel, is pursuing a two-billion-pound action against Deripaska claiming he is entitled to a 20 percent share in the oligarch's aluminium firm Rusal.
Cherney's claim is based on an alleged agreement with Deripaska in London in 2001 as their company Sibal was merged with Sibneft, controlled by businessmen Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky, which led to the creation of Rusal.
Deripaska's lawyer, Ali Malek, told the judges that the lawsuit had "absolutely nothing to do with this country".
The disputed contract was based on Russian law, large parts of it were in Russian and the events leading up to it all took place in Russia, he argued.
In addition, he said there was no evidence that Cherney might be under threat in Russia and no question of the Russian state exercising improper influence over a litigant for political reasons.
Deripaska denies the two men were ever business partners, claiming Cherney was engaged in a protection racket and he paid him 130 million pounds to "pay him off", but no more was due.
Deripaska was once Russia's richest man but lost his status when his fortune was decimated amid the global financial crisis.
Source: AFP European Edition
