How Uzbek tycoon challenging EU defamation over alleged Putin ties

A German lawyer has brought a case before Germany’s Federal Court of Justice seeking clearance to sue the European Union Council for defamation over its sanctions against Uzbek billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov, a potentially precedent-setting move.

If the appeal succeeds, the Council could be required to defend its reasoning in a Hamburg court, marking the first defamation action linked to an EU sanctions decision, according to filings seen by Euronews.

The case focuses on the Council’s statement of reasons issued in September 2023 for putting Usmanov, who has amassed his wealth in Russia, in the sanctions list. Hamburg-based lawyer Joachim Steinhoefel, representing the billionaire, argues that key claims underlying the sanctions were unjustified.

One passage in the Council’s original statement alleged that Usmanov “reportedly fronted for President Putin and solved his business problems,” citing the American Forbes publication as the source.

Steinhoefel challenged this before the Hamburg Regional Court, which ruled the allegation unlawful. Forbes has appealed on jurisdiction grounds and maintains that the original article constitutes "protected opinion" rather than verifiable fact.

“A journalist’s expression of opinion cannot serve as a basis for sanctions. The Council cannot publish it as a purported statement of fact if the author has clarified it was opinion,” Steinhoefel told Euronews.

Born in 1953 in the Uzbek SSR, Alisher Usmanov is among Russia’s most influential entrepreneurs. He is known for his business career and involvement in philanthropy and sports. His wealth stems from multiple investments and management of large enterprises in sectors including metallurgy and telecommunications. Usmanov is married to Irina Viner, a leading figure in rhythmic gymnastics in Russia. She served as president of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation from 2008 to 2024 and as head coach of the national team from 2001 to 2025.

Steinhoefel further points to a claim published by Austrian newspaper Kurier that President Vladimir Putin called Usmanov “his favourite oligarch”—a statement that has been ruled unlawful and banned from dissemination. He also cites a tweet referenced by the Council that was later retracted. According to Steinhoefel, hundreds of articles, including major European media reports alleging ties between Usmanov and Russian political leadership, have been removed or corrected. More than sixty court judgments or binding undertakings have required media and politicians to stop repeating such claims.

“This week, an important European newspaper executed a cease-and-desist undertaking and withdrew all claims of editorial manipulation at Kommersant, Usmanov’s business daily—claims that mirrored those made by the Council of the European Union,” he said.

Steinhoefel argues that the Council often cites unverified press material without meaningful source verification.

“Our concrete examples appear to show that the Council does not meaningfully verify sources and is satisfied with unverified press cuttings—even where the author recants, including in court,” he said. He contends this approach falls short of EU case-law standards, which allow press citations only when drawn from multiple independent sources, supported by specific facts, and consistent with the underlying record.

The lawyer characterises the Council’s approach as “coercion by proxy”: using sanctions on influential businesspeople to pressure the Russian government indirectly. “That, he says, offends the democratic principle that lawful private conduct should not be instrumentalised as leverage in foreign policy.”

By Nazrin Sadigova