LONDON, December 20 - RAPSI, Yelena Pakhomova, Vladimir Yaduta. Jonathan Sumption, QC for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, began to deliver his closing speech in the Berezovsky-Abramovich legal battle on Monday; on the first day he told how Berezovsky and his witnesses falsified their testimonies and why they are not trustworthy.

Sumption reminded that Berezovsky claims in his lawsuit that Abramovich intimidated him into selling a number of assets in Russian companies, including interest in the Sibneft oil company, Rusal aluminum group and ORT TV channel, at a fraction of their value.

When describing the relations between Abramovich and Russian government officials, Sumption pointed out that 10 years ago Berezovsky enjoyed similar relations with Boris Yeltsin's government.

The counsel also emphasized that earlier Berezovsky sued the Forbes magazine which mentioned Berezovsky's clout in the Kremlin. And Berezovsky has confirmed his influence in the 1990s during this trial.

To draw up the bottom line Sumption focused on the issue of laws to be applied in the litigation. The counsel recurred to Russian phrase "krysha", which means roof, or protection while dwelling on the technicalities of the companies' acquisition.

He insisted that this very word describes the relations between the two, while Berezovsky had never been the companies' shareholder.

Sumption is expected to finish his remarks on Tuesday and the court will declare a recess for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Berezovsky's counsel Laurence Rabinowitz will deliver his concluding remarks in mid-January.