Berezovsky faces massive legal bill

Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been left with legal bills for tens of millions of pounds after losing a High Court battle with Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, a judge has been told.

Earlier this year judge Mrs Justice Gloster dismissed a series of claims by Mr Berezovsky - who wanted more than £3 billion damages - relating to deals done in Russia.

On Friday, the judge was told by lawyers that Mr Berezovsky had agreed to pay £35 million towards Mr Abramovich's legal costs in the wake of her ruling.

The judge was given no detail of the amount of costs run up by Mr Berezovsky, but legal magazine The Lawyer has said the case is thought to have generated "total fees" of more than £100 million.

Mr Berezovsky, 66, had sued and accused Mr Abramovich, 45, of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract.

He said the billionaire Russian businessman had "intimidated" him into selling shares in a Russian oil company at a fraction of their value and broken a promise made during a deal relating to a Russian aluminium company.

Mr Abramovich said the claims had "no merit". Mrs Justice Gloster ruled in Mr Abramovich's favour in August following a trial - staged in London between October 2011 and January - at which both men gave evidence.

The judge described Mr Berezovsky as an "unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness" but said she found Mr Abramovich to be a "truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness".

Lawyers outlined agreements reached on the payment of legal costs at a High Court hearing in London on Friday. The judge was also told that Mr Berezovsky had decided not to appeal against her ruling.

Neither Mr Berezovsky, who settled in England more than a decade ago after going into "self-imposed exile", nor Mr Abramovich were at the hearing.