Michael Cherney does not lack confidence he has even named the charities that will benefit from his windfall - But he could well be counting his chickens before their hatched.

The story has been featured on several newswires and websites and Michael Cherney has embarked on an aggressive media campaign to promote himself and now its time for action. Let's look at the facts behind the claim.

The origins of the claim lie in the 1990s in the so called "aluminium wars" from this turbulent period rose an economic giant, Rusal, which stands as a statement of Russia's new found global influence in commodities and the aluminium industry, under the control of Oleg Deripaska.

The dispute may originate in Russia but is being fought in London and not in Moscow.

Why is it being fought in a country that has nothing to do with the argument?

This is due to the fact that Cherney believes that there is a conspiracy against him by senior Russian politicians and that he is unlikely to receive a fair hearing in Russia.

Case number 2006/1218 in the High Court in London, sees Michael Cherney take on his former friend and business partner Oleg Deripaska, the majority owner of Rusal and if he wins then he stands to win billions.

Cherney has allegedly thousands of documents to prove his partnership with Rusal owner Oleg Deripaska and now wants his share of his fortune. Mr. Deripaska denies the claim.

With Deripaska not conceding, it is now up to Cherney to take action, the media campaign has built up his case now it needs to be backed by action in the courts.

The documents on the web can be viewed and make interesting reading.
So far the first round has gone to Deripaska, in that the Judge has determined that documents were not validly served on Deripaska.

This maybe just technicality, and thus easily remedied but reading the document there are other significant points that come up in relation to the case and a particular statement buy the judge will catch any readers eye and he says of Mr. Cherney:

"And establish, the burden being upon him, that England was the appropriate forum for the determination of the claim."

This would seem to be fairly logical, as why is the case, being fought in a country which really has nothing to do with the dispute?

So, if the burden is upon Mr. Cherney to establish why London is a correct place to fight this argument, it will be interesting to see why he thinks it is.

If the case does go ahead, it will involve money being deposited to proceed. This is likely to be substantial for the following reason:
When a non UK domiciled party sues in the UK, the defending party has the right to ask for security for costs.

Cherney must therefore deposit a substantial sum to cover Deripaska's costs in the event that Deripaska wins. The amount that is ordered by the Judge is in directly related to the strength or weakness of the claimant's case.

The weaker the probability of the claimant prevailing, the higher the costs will be.

The ball is now very much in Mr. Cherney's court, to push the case forward and it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Disgruntled business partners or employees, emerge all the time and make claims years later, on businesses they were once involved in, or against former partners and the more successful the business or partner, the more dramatic the claim and Rusal and Mr. Deripaska are certainly very successful.

Mr. Deripaska appears unconcerned by the claim.

Mr. Cherney now needs to back up his considerable media campaign with further action in the High Court and this will determine whether his chosen charities can look forward to a $600 million dollar gift.

The case is far from won; in fact it hasn't really begun yet.

As per usual the lawyers may make a lot of money, but it does not look like the claim is rock solid, certainly not certain enough to be confidently donating the winnings to charity already.

The "aluminum Wars" are over for good, but the fallout and arguments from the period still live on, the above court action from Michael Cherney against his once friend and business partner Oleg Deripaska illustrates the point.