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Berezovsky, Abramovich Trial Winds Up

After four months of acid testimony, the London trial between Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich has ended, with a ruling expected in late March or early April.

The High Court trial wrapped up Thursday. Berezovsky claimed in his lawsuit that Abramovich tricked him into selling stakes in aluminum assets and oil firm Sibneft at a firesale price, causing a loss of about $6.8 billion.

Abramovich said he shelled out $2 billion to Berezovsky for political leverage and physical protection and said Berezovsky wasn't a Sibneft owner.

Meanwhile, Berezovsky, who lives in London, has launched a lawsuit against the family of Badri Patarkatsishvili, his onetime business partner who died in Britain in 2008, The Times of London reported Saturday.

In the case, which is set to go to full trial in October, Berezovsky claims that he owns half of the late Georgian's assets "under a handshake agreement that the two men made in 1995," The Times reported.

The Times said the assets, which include gold mines, oil prospects and casinos, could be worth more than $3 billion.

(MT, Reuters, Bloomberg)

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