Alisher Usmanov wins another court case against German media outlet

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has won a defamation case against Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The Hamburg Regional Court upheld Usmanov’s claim and banned the publication from disseminating a number of statements about the businessman that were deemed defamatory. The news was reported by RBC, citing Usmanov’s press service.

According to the report, the court ruling was issued on January 23 this year. For each violation of the ban, a fine of up to €250,000 has been set. If the fine cannot be enforced, administrative detention of up to six months may be imposed for each violation, with a total possible sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment.

Usmanov’s representatives said the court prohibited FAZ from publishing claims that the businessman allegedly used his wealth “in the interests of or on instructions from the Kremlin,” informally represented the interests of the Russian authorities in Uzbekistan, and interfered in the editorial policy of the Kommersant newspaper after acquiring it in 2006.

In addition, according to the lawyers, for the first time in European judicial practice, the court also banned the dissemination of claims based on investigative materials by opposition figure Alexei Navalny that had previously been ruled false by a Russian court. In particular, this concerns allegations made in the film He Is Not Dimon to You, which claimed that Usmanov had transferred real estate to individuals linked to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The businessman’s representatives described the ruling as an important precedent for European judicial practice.

For reference, this is not the first ruling in Usmanov’s favor in German courts. In the spring of last year, a Hamburg court banned Germany’s ARD television channel from disseminating claims that judges of the International Fencing Federation had been bribed. In 2024, the same court also prohibited the U.S.-based Forbes magazine from publishing statements alleging that Usmanov was a “front man” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he managed the president’s business affairs.

It is worth noting that earlier, the Munich Prosecutor’s Office discontinued an investigation into Usmanov on suspicion of violating sanctions.