Russian Billionaire Fights VC in Court Over Troubled Partnership

When Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev met Seth Harrison 15 years ago, he was looking to invest some of his fortune in the life sciences sector, and the seasoned American venture capitalist seemed like the right partner.

They went on to set up a fund in which Harrison’s Apple Tree Partners would tap Rybolovlev’s family trust to invest in the formation of US startup pharmaceutical developers working on promising drugs for serious illnesses. Their venture ran smoothly for a decade before blowing up, according to a court filing by Apple Tree that describes how they met.