MOSCOW, September 14 - RAPSI. Infamous Russian mogul Boris Berezovsky, currently residing in the UK, has withdrawn his $3bln lawsuit against the family of his late business partner Badri Patarkatsishvili, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
In October, a London court was to start hearing the $3 billion case that Berezovsky had filed against the Patarkatsishvili family in 2008. The plaintiff claimed he had handed over his funds to Patarkatsishvili to keep them safe. The partners agreed to split the profit from their joint venture if necessary. However, the agreement was verbal and Berezovsky has no written evidence of it.
On August 31, the British court rejected Berezovsky's suit against former Chukotka Governor Roman Abramovich. Berezovsky claims that between 2000 and 2003 he and his business partner Badri Patarkatsishvili sold assets of some Russian companies at lower than market value under pressure from Abramovich, who was vested with political power. Allegedly, Abramovich threatened that if the shares were not sold, they would be expropriated by the government. Berezovsky's accumulated claim was worth nearly $5.5 billion.
Berezovsky, who is wanted by Russian authorities on charges of fraud and deceoption, has been hiding from the Russian authorities in the United Kingdom since 2000. In 2003, a British court refused to extradite the businessman. Patarkatsishvili, Berezovsky's accomplice and well known Georgian oppositionist and businessman, died in 2008 in his house in London. He had a wife and two daughters.
Berezovsky's business partner, a famous Georgian oppositional leader and businessman Patarkatsishvili, died in 2008 in his London house, leaving a wife and two daughters.