THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea Football club owner, today told the High Court how he created a multi billion pound fortune despite leaving school at 16 and originally starting his business career selling plastic toys.
The Chelsea Football club owner is giving evidence in a High Court battle with exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.
Fighting off a legal battle for £6.5bn, almost half his fortune, the Chelsea FC owner, gave short answers in Russian as he was probed about his background.
He faces accusations by Boris Berezovsky, his former “mentor” that he blackmailed him into selling his shares in the oil conglomerate the founded together after Mr Berezovsky fell out with Vladimir Putin, then the newly-elected president of Russia.
Mr Abramovich claims that Mr Berezovsky never had any interest in his companies and was paid $2.5bn for “Krysha” – his protection from criminal gangs and his political patronage.
The two men have ignored each other across the court room in central London for the last month but today came as close as at any time since Mr Berezovsky served a writ on Mr Abramovich at a Hermes store in central London four years ago. » | Duncan Gardham and Gordon Rayner | Monday, October 31, 2011
