Reports accusing Alisher Usmanov of being behind a “bribery scheme” were false, media holding WDR has acknowledged
Reports accusing Russian metals and telecoms tycoon Alisher Usmanov of setting up a scheme to bribe International Fencing Federation (FIE) referees were false, German media holding Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) has admitted, the news outlet RBK reported on Friday.
Germany’s state broadcaster ARD, of which WDR is a part, published two articles and one video report in August, in which journalist Hans-Joachim Seppelt accused the Russian businessman of being behind a scheme to manipulate referees during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Usmanov served as the FIE president from 2008 until early 2022, when he voluntarily stepped down after being hit with EU sanctions, although he remains president-elect.
The reporter claimed that Usmanov had orchestrated a “system of referee bribery” and corruption in international fencing during his tenure as FIE president, according to the outlet. However, the German broadcaster decided not to defend Seppelt’s allegations.
The reports published by WDR “containing false statements about the alleged creation of a corruption system in international fencing by Alisher Usmanov” were “subsequently banned by the District Court of Hamburg,” the businessman’s press service told RBK.
Earlier this month, the District Court of Hamburg found the information published by ARD unreliable and backed Usmanov in his libel case against the broadcaster. The court also banned ARD from disseminating “inappropriate news based on suspicion.” The ruling includes a fine of up to €250,000 (about $274,000) or imprisonment for failure to comply.
The libelous reports were deleted only after the court’s ruling. The controversial materials were partially based on statements made by Georgian fencer Sandro Bazadze, who claimed to have lost a round of sixteen matches unfairly. The President of the Georgian Fencing Federation, Merab Bazadze, later dismissed the claims as emotional reactions and issued an official apology to the FIE.
Usmanov’s lawyer Joachim Steinhofel accused Seppelt of violating “basic journalistic standards” with the aim of making the businessman “contemptuous.”“That’s not journalism, that’s a disgrace,” the lawyer told Bild.
After winning the libel case against ARD, the billionaire filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office in Cologne against the German journalist.
Earlier this year, Usmanov won litigation against Forbes magazine over allegations of ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the District Court of Hamburg stating that the claims made by the outlet were untrue and defamatory.
