Russian billionaire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has appeared in a Swiss court as part of a 19-year-old legal battle over 46 million Swiss francs (£33 million) in debts allegedly owed by him and others to a European bank.
Mr Abramovich was in court in Fribourg as part of a lawsuit brought by the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) against Mr Abramovich, Russian oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler and the Russian energy company Gazprom Neft, a bank spokesman said.
The initial amount sought by EBRD was 17.5 million Swiss francs (£12.74 million), but the claim has grown to 46 million francs to include interest and costs.
