Timeline
1995: Mr Guriev and Mr Gorbachev take over the management of Apatit, PhosAgro’s predecessor company
1996: Mr Guriev first awards Mr Gorbachev a share of his stake in the business in recognition of the increased exposure of his position as the public face of the company
1999: The PhosAgro Association is launched, with Mr Gorbachev as vice president and executive director
2001: First discussions about an IPO
2003: PhosAgro shows net profit, but figures linked to the business are arrested
2004: Mr Gorbachev is advised to leave Russia, but is not given any details of the alleged criminal activity involved – he is granted asylum in England (2005)
2005: Mr Guriev meets Mr Gorbachev in London to confirm their shareholdings
2006-08: Further friendly meetings in London
2011-12: PhosAgro is floated on the Moscow Stock Exchange. Mr Guriev refuses to meet Mr Gorbachev and stops paying Mr Gorbachev’s family’s expenses
2018: Mr Guriev and his entourage are served with legal papers in London
2019: Case disputing whether legal papers were successfully served held in Manchester. Judge rules in Mr Gorbachev’s favour
2019-20: UK courts reject two attempts by Mr Guriev to overturn the Manchester decision. Mr Guriev’s lawyers also drop their objection to England as the appropriate jurisdiction for the case, paving the way for a full trial in the UK High Court to determine PhosAgro’s true ownership
NEWS (May 2021): Following a Case Management Conference at the Commercial Court in London, Nicholas Vineall QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, made directions for the case all the way through to trial. A six-week trial has now been scheduled to begin at the UK court on January 23, 2023.