LONDON/MOSCOW, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Russian billionaires Oleg
Deripaska and Michael Cherney reached an 11th-hour settlement in
a dispute over a billion dollar slice of aluminium giant RUSAL
, shortly before they were due to give evidence in a
drawn-out London court case.
The case, which had been expected to run well into 2013, was
due to dwell on allegations of broken promises, criminality and
mob rule while shining a light on the murky carve-up of
lucrative smelters in the 'wild east' of post-Soviet Siberia.
"Mr. Deripaska announces that Mr. Cherney's litigation in
London against him has been terminated," a spokesperson for
Deripaska said in a brief statement. "Neither party will be
making any further comment in relation to the litigation or
matters raised therein."
Cherney's team released a nearly identical statement.
Cherney, born in Ukraine, raised in Uzbekistan, Jewish by
creed and living in Israel since leaving Russia in 1994, alleged
that metals mogul Deripaska reneged on a deal to buy him out of
their joint aluminium business, RUSAL.
Well-connected Deripaska, who controls RUSAL and is a
survivor of President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on oligarchs
who once wielded great political power, denied having had any
such business relationship with Cherney. He alleged he was the
victim of a protection racket Cherney helped orchestrate - an
accusation Cherney denied.
Cherney, who in 2008 won the right to bring his case against
Deripaska in London's respected courts - the venue of choice for
the warring Russian wealthy - was due to be cross-examined next
Tuesday via video-link from Israel. An outstanding arrest
warrant relating to a separate money laundering investigation
prevents him from travelling to London.
Lawyers were intrigued at the last-minute deal.
"The experience in most of these cases is that they do go to
trial because no one is willing to back down," said Philippa
Charles, a litigation partner at law firm Mayer Brown.
"So it's interesting that the level of publicity has perhaps
focused the minds of both parties on whether or not it is
actually worth having their dirty linen washed in public."
THE POWER OF METAL
The Russian aluminium industry, like much of Russia's raw
materials sector, came under the control of a few powerful
oligarchs during the huge selloff of state assets that followed
the collapse of communism and of the Soviet Union in 1991. The
brutality of the business rivalry over aluminium smelters gave
birth to the term 'aluminium wars'.
Cherney's case against Deripaska had overtones of a recent
battle between Russian oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman
Abramovich, which in August helped ensure the concept of
"krysha", or roof, was established in English courts.
Berezovsky's claim for $6 billion was dismissed and Judge
Elizabeth Gloster described him as an 'inherently unreliable
witness'. Abramovich had said he had paid money to Berezovsky
for 'krysha' services of political cover and protection,
A "krysha", in Russian gangster parlance, can be either a
figure who genuinely protects, in return for payment, the
interests of a business in a sometimes brutal business world or
it can refer to a racketeer extorting money by intimidation. The
boundary between the two can, of course, be blurred.
The case, which began in July when both sides published
opening statements and lawyers laid out the details of their
arguments in front of Judge Andrew Smith, hinged in part on what
was agreed in a London hotel 11 year ago.
Cherney and Deripaska agreed they met at the Lanesborough
Hotel on a March morning in 2001, that they signed one document
and that Deripaska handed Cherney $250 million. Everything else,
even exactly when they first met each other, was disputed.
Deripaska says he made the payment to terminate a krysha
arrangement with Cherney, partly because his business was now
powerful enough, and his security forces strong enough, to
confront criminal gangs.
Cherney says he had orally agreed a 50/50 partnership with
Deripaska in 1993, which lasted until March 2001. He alleges
Deripaska then agreed at the Lanesborough meeting to pay him a
preliminary $250 million for his aluminium interests held by
Deripaska - and also agreed to buy him out of the remainder of
his stake within a few years.
RUSAL, the product of a slew of takeovers and mergers mainly
in Siberia, where the hydro-electric power needed to fuel hungry
smelters comes cheap, has emerged as Russia's only aluminium
producer. Cherney alleged a 13.2 percent stake belongs to him.
Deripaska, a former physics student who started investing in
aluminium assets in 1991 who has entertained top British
politicians on his 70 million pound ($114 million) yacht, says
he was forced into a "krysha" after being threatened by some of
the country's most powerful criminal gangs in the mid-1990s.
Stories abound about such "protection" mobs attacking the
wives and relatives of those who failed to do their bidding,
launching fictitious criminal proceedings, violent takeovers of
businesses or simply liquidating rivals and critics.
