Swiss Court to Compensate Michael Cherney for Baseless Allegations

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 21, 2010 - A Swiss court has ruled that Israeli businessman Michael Cherney
(Mikhail Chernoy) is to be financially compensated for unfounded suspicions
of his links to the "Russian Mafia".

According to the Swiss court's ruling, Israeli businessman
Michael Cherney will be financially compensated 30,000 Swiss francs for moral
damages to him and his family caused by an investigation which lasted from
1996 until 2007. The investigation was related to Cherney's suspected links
to the "Russian Mafia", and started in November 1996 when Cherney was
detained for four days upon his entry to Geneva. This was followed by a
decade-long investigation, which resulted in the Swiss High Federal Court's
verdict in 2008, exonerating Cherney from all the charges.

After the Swiss court's 2008 ruling that Cherney was not linked
to organized crime, he decided to sue for moral damages. According to the
Canton of Geneva law, this compensation could not exceed the amount of 10,000
francs. Exceptions are made in cases where courts discern "special
circumstances". According to the court's latest verdict, this was the case
with Cherney, especially since the investigation had unduly dragged out for
eleven years. As a result, Cherney was awarded a compensation of 30,000 Swiss
francs, three times the standard amount.

Last January Tel Aviv's court found that the campaign to discredit
Michael Cherney had been managed at the order of Russian citizen Alexei
Drobashenko, formerly the public relations director for Base Element, a
financial and industrial group belonging to Oleg Deripaska. Cherney and
Deripaska are former partners in the aluminium business. Currently Cherney's
multi-million dollar suit against Deripaska is being considered by a London
court.

    Contact:
    Michael Cherney Foundation
    www.cherfund.org
    mail@cherfund.org
    fax: +972-3-516-1078

Contact: Michael Cherney Foundation, mail at cherfund.org, fax: +972-3-516-1078