BySimon Rocker, Simon Rocker
Russian-Israeli businessman Arkady Gaydamak has lost a fresh claim in the British courts against tycoon Lev Leviev over a Angolan diamond deal worth more than a billion pounds.
High Court judge Mr Justice Mann granted an application from Mr Leviev, who is also of Russian-Israeli background, to strike out the case nearly two years after a previous court judgment.
The case goes back to 2001 when the two businessmen agreed a partnership over the export of gems from the African republic.
Mr Leviev denied making any deal but, at a hearing in 2012, Mr Justice Vos accepted Mr Gaydamak's evidence that the two men had made a deal.
However, the judge ruled that Mr Leviev was not liable to pay Mr Gaydamak any money, accepting that a previous agreement between the two men dropping all legal claims, was valid.
Mr Gaydamak responded with a new legal bid, arguing that he had been the victim of a breach of trust - according to his claim, Mr Leviev was alleged to have misappropriated more than $2 billion (£1.2 billion) of assets.
But, after a two-day hearing this month, Mr Justice Mann ruled that it would be an abuse of process for the same events to go to a second trial.