As of December 2006 RusAl was in the final stages of negotiating a takeover of domestic rival SuAl and the aluminium assets of Glencore, a major Swiss commodities trader, which could create a new company valued at up to $US30 billion. According to this estimate, Cherney's 20 percent stake in RusAl could be worth as much as $US3 billion. On 3 July 2008, a British judge ruled that Cherney had the right to sue Deripaska for £2 billion. High Court Justice Christopher Clarke ruled that Cherney might be assassinated or held on trumped-up charges if he tried to bring the case in Russia.