Exiled tycoon faces second Brazilian court battle

18 Sep, 2008 01:40 / Updated 16 years ago

Boris Berezovsky's Brazilian woes are far from over. Brazil's top court has dropped money laundering charges against the Russian billionaire, but opened a new investigation into the same case.

The Supreme Court ruled that the case against the former oligarch had to be thrown out of court because a judge didn't allow his lawyers to question witnesses after the prosecution. He was accused of laundering money through the Brazilian football club Corinthians. Berezovsky fled to Britain in 2000 to avoid a money-laundering investigation in Russia. In 2007 a Moscow court found him guilty of embezzlement in absentia and sentenced him to six years in jail.