Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Roman Abramovich settles libel claim over Putin biography

Roman Abramovich settles libel claim over Putin biography

Russian oligarch ends his case against journalist Catherine Belton over her book Putin’s People
The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has settled his libel claim against the journalist Catherine Belton over her best-selling book Putin’s People, after an agreement was reached late on Tuesday.

The text will now recognise that the allegation Abramovich bought Chelsea football club at the Russian president’s behest is not a statement of fact. It will include additional denials from the oligarch’s spokesperson and the club.

It will also correct a claim that the late oligarch Boris Berezovsky co-owned the Russian oil company Sibneft with Abramovich. The amendment follows a 2011-12 high court legal battle between the two men, which Abramovich won. The book’s publisher, HarperCollins, has agreed to make a payment to charity “in recognition of this error”, it said.

Abramovich sued over a number of claims, including that he bought Chelsea on Vladimir Putin’s orders. He was one of three Russian tycoons who initiated libel proceedings against Belton and HarperCollins, together with the Russian state oil company Rosneft.

The other defendants subsequently settled or withdrew their claims. Abramovich ended his case after HarperCollins said on Wednesday some information concerning the oligarch was inaccurate. It agreed to make revisions to the book, widely acclaimed as the definitive work on the Putin era.

HarperCollins hailed the overnight settlement as a fair agreement. There are no damages being paid to Abramovich himself. Both sides will pay their own costs. Had the libel trial gone ahead in the high court next year the legal bill was likely to have exceeded £10m, it is understood.

The publisher said: “While the book always included a denial that Mr Abramovich was acting under anybody’s direction when he purchased Chelsea, the new edition will include a more detailed explanation of Mr Abramovich’s motivations for buying the club.

“HarperCollins has also made clear in the book that there is no evidence, beyond the statements of the individuals themselves, supporting claims made to the author by [the former Kremlin insider] Sergei Pugachev and two other unnamed individuals about the purchase of Chelsea Football Club.”

HarperCollins acknowledged that a high court judge described Berezovsky as an “inherently unreliable witness”. It added: “HarperCollins and the author apologise that these aspects of the book were not as clear as they would have liked them to have been and are happy to have now clarified the text.”

Chelsea FC said it was pleased HarperCollins and Belton had “apologised to Mr Abramovich” and agreed to amend the book. Several false claims about him had been removed, it said, adding they “lacked evidence and were indeed false”.

The club said the publisher had agreed to add or delete “over 1700 words”. The sole reason the oligarch had issued his claim was to “refute the false allegations” published about him, including over his purchase of Chelsea and its activities.

The statement went on: “As the objectives of this legal claim have never been punitive, we have not asked for any damages to be paid. We have, however, asked that HarperCollins makes a donation in lieu of damages to a charitable organization, to which they have agreed”.

Despite the revisions, the agreement is being seen overall as a victory for Belton, who has come under unprecedented legal assault from billionaires with Kremlin ties. Abramovich served for eight years as governor of Chukotka, a region in Russia’s far east. He has consistently denied being under the Russian government’s control.

In a statement, she said “this last year has felt like a war of attrition” in which she had been “bombarded with lawsuits” from four Russian billionaires and Rosneft.

Belton added: “Though the claimants have denied it was coordinated, it has seemed to me similar to the Kremlin’s multi-pronged campaign against Ukraine in which it has sought to exhaust the west into making security concessions over Nato’s expansion.”

She continued: “Throughout, HarperCollins has staunchly defended the book. I could not have wished for a better or braver publisher more committed to public interest journalism.”

Campaigners have described the case against Belton as an abuse of the UK’s libel system. Abramovich sued the former Financial Times journalist personally as well as her publisher.

The settlement was made following an approach by Abramovich, it is understood. HarperCollins said Belton had always been willing to include the oligarch’s comments on the allegations, and recognised that books on controversial contemporary themes needed updating as new information emerged.

At a preliminary hearing in November, Mrs Justice Tipples ruled that several passages in the book that Abramovich said conveyed untrue statements about him were defamatory of him.

One such claim was the suggestion that Abramovich was “under the control of Putin” and that the oligarch was obliged “to make the fortune from his business empire available for the use of President Putin and his regime”, Tipples wrote, in a 34-page ruling. But she ruled three out of four sections complained of by Rosneft were not defamatory, with the oil firm subsequently shelving its case.

Tipples emphasised that the court was only, at that point, adjudicating on meaning. It was not deciding whether the allegations made about Abramovich or anyone else were true or false. Following Wednesday’s settlement the claims will not be tested in court.

At the initial hearing, Abramovich’s lawyer said the book repeated “lazy inaccuracies about Abramovich’s role in various events” and made false and damaging statements about him which were “completely without foundation”.

Belton spent seven years writing Putin’s People and was based in Moscow as the bureau chief for the FT. Last month, she was named the 2021 outstanding investigative journalist in awards named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-corruption lawyer who died in jail.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
×