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A Moscow court has ruled partly in favor of billionaire Oleg Deripaska in a defamation lawsuit against four critics, ordering them to pay 40 million rubles. Deripaska had sought 1 billion rubles; the defendants and their responses to the ruling were not reported in the source.
Moscow’s Tagansky District Court has ruled partly in favor of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in his defamation lawsuit against four critics, ordering them to pay 40 million rubles, his lawyer told Interfax. Deripaska had sought 1 billion rubles, making the award substantially lower than the amount requested.
The defendants are Maria Pevchikh and Sergey Yezhov, investigators with the Anti-Corruption Foundation; Irina Alleman, a former host of Popular Politics; and Olga Romanova, a human rights activist. Lawyer Alexey Melnikov said the court found that information circulated by the defendants was false and defamatory. That description of the ruling comes from Deripaska’s lawyer, as reported by Interfax.
The lawsuit stemmed from a video published on the Navalny Live YouTube channel titled “Organized Crime, Officials, Girls: The Criminal Biography of Oleg Deripaska.” The video description called Deripaska “an oligarch for whom crime has always been the norm.” Those are statements attributed to the video and its description; the available report does not set out the court’s full reasoning or identify each specific statement covered by its judgment.
According to the report, Deripaska alleged in his lawsuit that the defendants had spent several years conducting “a large-scale campaign against him to tarnish his honor and good name.” The court’s reported order concerns compensation of 40 million rubles. The source does not say whether the judgment also required the defendants to remove or correct material, or whether any of them plan to appeal.
The 40 Million Ruble Award
The ruling gives Deripaska a court victory in a case over public criticism, but the reported compensation is 40 million rubles, rather than the 1 billion rubles he requested. The difference makes the scope of the award a central point in understanding the outcome. The report does not explain how the court calculated compensation or whether the amount is divided equally among the four defendants.
The case also concerns public allegations made in online political media. A defamation judgment can carry consequences for the people sued and may affect whether similar material remains available or is challenged in court. In this instance, the report confirms the court’s finding as described by Deripaska’s lawyer, but does not provide the defendants’ account, the court’s written decision, or the legal arguments on each side. Those limits matter when assessing what the ruling establishes beyond the reported order.
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Deripaska’s Earlier Defamation Cases
Deripaska has brought other lawsuits involving investigations and statements by people associated with the Anti-Corruption Foundation. In August 2022, he sued Alexey Navalny, Pevchikh, Georgy Alburov and The Insider over an investigation concerning Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The report says Moscow’s Zelenogradsky District Court ruled in Deripaska’s favor in October 2022.
Deripaska had also sued over a Navalny team investigation into a yacht vacation involving then-Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Prikhodko and Nastya Rybka, described in the source as an escort agency employee. In December 2024, he sued Pevchikh and Google over a statement in a Popular Politics video that he “chips in to fund a private military company.” These earlier cases provide context for the latest lawsuit, but the report does not establish that their claims or outcomes are the same as in the current case.
“The court found that the information the defendants had circulated was false and defamatory.”
— Alexey Melnikov, Deripaska’s lawyer, speaking to Interfax
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Appeal Plans and Judgment Details
The available report does not include the court’s full written ruling, its reasoning, or a breakdown of the 40 million ruble award among the four defendants. It is also not clear whether the defendants dispute the ruling, intend to appeal, or have been directed to remove or amend the material at issue. No response from the defendants is included in the source report.
The court’s reported finding is conveyed through Deripaska’s lawyer. Without the judgment text and the defendants’ positions, further detail about which claims the court assessed and how it reached its conclusion remains unconfirmed in the available account.
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Possible Appeals and Enforcement
The next developments to watch are whether any of the four defendants appeal and whether the court publishes a written decision with details about its findings and the damages calculation. The source report does not state an appeal deadline or indicate that an appeal has been filed.
It is also not yet clear whether the defendants will pay the award voluntarily or contest enforcement. Until further information becomes available, the confirmed outcome is limited to the reported partial ruling for Deripaska and the order for the four critics to pay 40 million rubles.
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Key Questions
Who did the Moscow court order to pay Deripaska?
The order covers Maria Pevchikh, Sergey Yezhov, Irina Alleman and Olga Romanova, the four people named as defendants in Deripaska’s defamation lawsuit.
How much did the court award?
The court ordered the defendants to pay 40 million rubles. Deripaska had sought 1 billion rubles, according to the report.
What was the lawsuit about?
The case stemmed from a video on the Navalny Live YouTube channel titled “Organized Crime, Officials, Girls: The Criminal Biography of Oleg Deripaska.” The report says Deripaska alleged that the defendants had conducted a campaign to damage his reputation.
Will the defendants appeal?
The source report does not say whether any defendant plans to appeal or whether an appeal has been filed. Their responses to the ruling were not included.
Did the court order the video removed?
The report describes a ruling on the defamation claim and a 40 million ruble compensation order. It does not say whether the court ordered the video or related material to be removed or corrected.
Source: rss
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