Usmanov won a lawsuit against Forbes over an article that became the basis for sanctions

Usmanov filed a lawsuit against FORBES because of an anonymous expert’s phrase that the businessman “acted as a figurehead” for Putin. This phrase later appeared in the justification for introducing EU sanctions against Usmanov Alisher Usmanov

The Hamburg Regional COURT banned the American magazine Forbes from disseminating statements that the businessman, founder of the USM holding, Alisher Usmanov, was a “front man” for Russian President Vladimir Putin and “solved his business problems.” RBC has a copy of the court decision.

The reason for the lawsuit, which was sent back on February 27, 2023, was a Forbes article about Russian billionaires dated February 2, 2022, entitled “Meet the Putin oligarchs who are likely to be subject to Biden sanctions because of Ukraine.” Usmanov's defense said the article contained unsubstantiated allegations, namely a quote from an anonymous expert that "Usmanov has repeatedly acted as a figurehead for Putin and solved his business problems." Later in February 2022, this phrase, among others, was quoted by the EU Council in justifying sanctions against the businessman. Usmanov's lawyers called the statements in the Forbes article false and defamatory.

During the trial, Forbes refused to disclose the anonymous source to whom the statement was attributed. The publication also failed to provide examples of when and how Usmanov “solved his business problems,” the court documents say.

As a result, a German court prohibited Forbes from disseminating these and a number of other statements, including that Usmanov acquired a stake in the Russian cellular operator MegaFon from the former Minister of Communications of RUSSIA Leonid Reiman (he repeatedly denied information that he was the owner of the company), to “solve a business problem” for Putin. As EU Today notes, the court's decision could set a legal precedent for challenging the sources the EU relied on to justify its sanctions against individual Russians in connection with the military operation in Ukraine .

Usmanov’s lawyer, Joachim Nikolaus Steinhöfel, said it was regrettable that “such an internationally respected publication as Forbes publishes serious accusations on its pages, but is unable to present a single piece of evidence to the court.” “At the same time, it is completely unacceptable for the EU Council to copy such articles verbatim to justify sanctions without checking their accuracy. This complete institutional failure, which is not the exception but rather the rule, became the starting point for the witch hunt against Mr. Usmanov. It turns out that the EU Council is justifying sanctions with fake news, the dissemination of which is prohibited by the court,” he said.

This is Usmanov's second victory in court in a lawsuit against media outlets that alleged his close ties to the Kremlin. In August 2023, the businessman lost in court to the Austrian newspaper Kurier, which wrote that Putin called Usmanov “one of his favorite oligarchs.” The Hamburg Regional Court sided with the businessman in the dispute, ruling that the statement was slander. In September 2023, the EU Council abandoned the use of the definition of “oligarch” in relation to Usmanov.

RBC Pro development program Master 52 skills in a year The development program is a convenient tool for continuous learning new skills for a successful career What non-obvious reasons make you procrastinate Good connections: what styles can networking be divided into The leader who is not left: how to earn the loyalty of subordinates If you are tired , downshifting is not the answer. How to save your career How to memorize 30 pages at a time - advice from the Swedish Grand Master of Memory 9 ways to make meetings more productive - from simple to radical “Anti-time management”: how to learn to manage everything A manager doesn’t need to be very smart: the HEAD of JPMorgan is about management Salvation top manager: 10 tricks for answering tricky questions Dictator's dictionary: what 6 phrases will give away an authoritarian manager What tricks of legendary scammers will be useful to you during negotiations Business coach Matt Abrahams: don’t try to speak “correctly”

Usmanov came under EU sanctions on February 28, 2022 amid the conflict in Ukraine. The EU justified the imposition of sanctions by the fact that the businessman has “close ties” with Putin. Thus, according to the EU, he is entrusted with servicing financial flows, and it is also assumed that Usmanov actively supports the policy of “destabilizing Ukraine.” On March 3, the entrepreneur came under American sanctions , but then the US Treasury made an exception for him: transactions with companies in which he owns 50% or more were allowed, and if Washington did not include them separately in the sanctions lists.

In April, the United States imposed sanctions against the USM holding, the Metalloinvest enterprise and the MegaFon operator, as well as against companies and people who, according to the US Treasury, are associated with the businessman. At the end of April, Usmanov filed an appeal to the European Court of General Jurisdiction against the EU's decision to impose sanctions and asked the court to suspend the sanctions until the judges make a final decision on the appeal.

In July, Usmanov and his sister Gulbahor Ismailova disputed allegations that they provided assistance for a military operation in Ukraine in a lawsuit against the EU. They demanded $20 thousand to cover legal costs. The entrepreneur then asked to speed up the proceedings on the claim. At the end of July, the European Court rejected Usmanov's petition. In the fall of 2022, Hungary and Uzbekistan asked the EU to remove Usmanov from the EU sanctions list.

The businessman is the founder and main shareholder of the USM holding (49%), which in turn owns Metalloinvest and MegaFon. According to the Russian Forbes, his fortune in 2023 is $14.4 billion, in 2022 it was $11.5 billion.