LONDON, October 3 - RAPSI. The High Court of London will start hearing on Monday a 2 billion pounds lawsuit filed by Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who currently lives in the UK, against his former business partner Roman Abromovich. Mr. Berezovsky seeks a compensation for a number assets he was forced to sell to Mr. Abramovich between 2000 to 2003.

Mr. Berezovsky claims in his lawsuit that Mr. Abramovich intimidated him and his business partner Badri Patarkatsishvili into selling a number of assets including a 43 percent in Sibneft, a major Russian oil company, and a stake in the aluminum group Rusal, for significantly less than the shares were worth.

The British mass media calls the dispute between two Russian oligarchs a legal battle of the year.