By Israel News Agency Staff

Jerusalem ----- July 23, 2008 ....... Michael Cherney, an Israel business and philanthropist recently expressed confidence in the British justice system.

Cherney was declared eligible to sue Russia's richest man for $4 billion (2 billion pounds) in an English court, after a high court judge ruled that Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy) might be assassinated or held on false charges if he tried to bring the case in Russia.

The ruling, in which the judge cast doubt on the integrity of the Russia legal system, could further strain relations between Moscow and London, which have been at a post-Cold War low.

Israel citizen and human rights activist Russian entrepreneur Michael Cherney accuses his former business partner Oleg Deripaska, Chairman of the Board of RUSAL, a Russia aluminum industry company, of failing to honor a business deal worth billions of dollars.

Deripaska, an aluminum baron and one of Russia's most powerful oligarchs, denies the allegations and says the case should be heard in Russia.

British High Court Judge Christopher Clarke accepted Cherney's argument that his life and freedom would be at risk in Russia, and a trial there might not be fair.

"I am persuaded that the risks inherent in a trial in Russia - assassination, arrest on trumped-up charges and lack of a fair trial - are sufficient to make England the forum in which the case can most suitably be tried in the interests of both parties and the ends of justice," the judge ruled.

"I am persuaded that the risks inherent in a trial in Russia - assassination, arrest on trumped-up charges and lack of a fair trial - are sufficient to make England the forum in which the case can most suitably be tried in the interests of both parties and the ends of justice," the judge ruled.

There was "a significant risk" that Cherney, 56, would not obtain a trial in Russia "unaffected by improper interference by state actors and that substantial justice may not be done".

As the the British High Court ruled that Deripaska was able to file an appeal it also stated that Oleg Deripaska must pay 85 percent of Michael Cherney's costs of his successful application to pursue his claims against Oleg Deripaska in England and make an interim costs payment to Michael Cherney of GBP 350,000.

The British High court ruled that Oleg Deripaska may appeal the original decision to the Court of Appeal. Cherney stated from Tel Aviv that he is confident that the original decision will be upheld on appeal.

The next stage of this case is expected to be the submission of Oleg Deripaska's notice of appeal, which the England Court today stipulated must take place by 19 September.

The British newspaper Mail On Sunday has reported that Russia billionaire Oleg Deripaska may have wanted to use England Labour MK Andrew MacKinlay, who appears to be in contact with Russia spies, in a High Court decision against Michael Cherney.

The Mail reported that: "Andrew MacKinlay, a Labour member of the powerful Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, was carpeted by UK Government Chief Whip Geoff Hoon after the England intelligence services reported that he had tea with the agent at the House of Commons."

The man, Alexander Polyakov, works as a counsellor at the Russia Embassy in London but is thought to report back to the SVR - the infamous agency once known as the KGB.

The Mail also reported that in a further, bizarre twist it has been claimed that MacKinlay was targeted by aides of a Russia oligarch as a 'stooge' for use in a High Court battle. According to a report in the Bulgarian newspaper Standart, pro-Kremlin advisers to Russia's richest man, Oleg Deripaska, are said to have wanted to deploy him against Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy), who is suing Deripaska for £1.5billion.

The report claimed aides to Oleg Deripaska, who is worth £14 billion, drafted a propaganda campaign two months before the 'tea', which included 'mobilizing' MacKinlay to help to block Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy) - worth £2 billion, from settling in the UK.

Recently, Israel Right-wing activist Avigdor Askin was arrested along with two private detectives, Rafi Pridan and Aviv Mor, from Tel Aviv, on suspicion that they had illegally listened in on the conversations and hacked computers of Russia - Israel businessman Michael Cherney's associates.

The complaint against the three was filed by Israel Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said the alleged wiretapping was aimed at harming him.

Israel Police's International Crimes Unit arrested the men on suspicion of illegal wiretapping, conspiring to commit a crime and violating the Privacy Law.
A source close to Askin told the Israel newspaper Ynet that Avigdor Askin has been helping to organize the campaign calling for the release of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir.

Israel Police believe that Oleg Deripaska employed the private detectives against Cherney.

Prior to 2001, Michael Cherney was engaged in charity work in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, Bulgaria, and the US. He made valuable contributions into Jewish philanthropy in Russia. Following the Dolphinarium terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, the Cherney Fund became the helping hand for all its victims.

The Cherney Fund renders help mostly to the new arrivals, victims of catastrophes and terrorist acts that continue to bleed Israel, as well as to the low-income victims of terror in other countries. Another equally important task assumed by the Cherney Foundation is the media effort in the war against Islamic terrorism and establishing basic human rights against those who practice Islamic Apartheid.

Michael Cherney has promised to donate $600 million to charity, should he win the London court case against Deripaska.

 

The above news content was edited and SEO optimized in Israel for the Internet by the Leyden Communications Group.

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