LONDON, October 13 - RAPSI, Vladimir Yaduta. Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who lives in exile in the UK, told the High Court of Justice in London that in the mid-1990s the Aeroflot airline could have been drained to the offshore along with his media business, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Wednesday.

The court started hearing Berezovsky's $5.5 billion lawsuit against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on October 3.

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

Berezovsky seeks to recover $5 billion in compensation for Sibneft and $564 million for RUSAL.

Law enforcement authorities started investigating Berezovsky following a scandal connected with Swiss company Andava which appropriated Aeroflot's foreign funds. In 2007, a Moscow court found Berezovsky guilty of stealing 215 million rubles ($6.62 million) and sentenced him to six years in prison in his absentia.