Pinsent Masons has been appointed by the Government of Russia’s Samara Region to represent it at the UK High Court in its efforts to recover almost RUB1bn (£20m) from oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

The UK firm won the role after a tender process that was sparked by the Samara Region filing action to recover RUB989m (£19.4m) it claims it is owed by Berezovsky.