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Written by Stefan | Friday, March 19th, 2010
Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, received a payment for slander against him made in an Italian newspaper article suggesting he had a bad gambling problem. This false allegation was compensated with a libel payout of an unknown amount that Abramovich says will go to charity. Abramovich also received a public apology from the High Court in London.
Abramovich’s lawyer, John Kelly, claimed to the London judge that his “internationally well-known and wealthy” client had suffered “distress and embarrassment” as a result of the article. The article that was published in the La Repubblica newspaper last may apparently stated that Abramovich had “suffered a heavy loss in a poker game and had been forced to hand over a luxury yacht worth half a million Euros to cover his gambling debt.” He also claimed that “the report also alleged that Mr. Abramovich’s poker playing had led to a crisis with his long-term partner Dasha Zhukova and that Mr. Abramovich was now gambling online.” According to Kelly, the claims were false and defamatory.
Kelly added, “Regrettably, these allegations were not put to Mr. Abramovich or his representatives before publication. If they had been, the defendant would have been advised of the utter falsity of the allegations.” Although the paper in question is mainly sold in Italy, copies were distributed to UK readers, as well.
Solicitor for La Republica’s publisher, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso, Sarah Toolan, says the defendant “offers its sincere apologies to Mr. Abramovich for the distress and embarrassment this article has caused.” She also said to the judge, “The defendant accepts that the allegations are untrue and ought never to have been published.”
Abramovich is the owner of the Chelsea Football Club.
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