BBC allegations cost Tory and Reform donor a peerage, defamation trial told
Summary
Mohamed Amersi is suing the BBC for defamation over a 2021 Panorama programme and article that linked his work for telecoms firm Telia to suspected corruption in Uzbekistan. At the opening of the seven-week trial, his barrister said the allegations harmed Amersi’s reputation and cost him a knighthood and peerage; the BBC disputes that he suffered serious harm and says its reporting was true and in the public interest.Key Facts
- The BBC’s 2021 programme and article examined a $220m payment Telia made to Gibraltar company Takilant in January 2010.
- The BBC alleges Takilant was beneficially owned by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan’s then president, and that Telia made corrupt payments in several countries.
- Amersi says he did not know, and had no reason to know, that Karimova owned Takilant or that the payment was a bribe.
- Amersi’s barrister said his client’s work for Telia in Uzbekistan lasted fewer than six weeks.
- Amersi says the publicity cost him a knighthood and peerage, led Union Bancaire Privée to end its banking relationship with him, and forced him to step back from educational philanthropy.
- The BBC says there is no corroborating documentary evidence for Amersi’s claims of reputational harm and disputes the accuracy of parts of his statement.
- Amersi donated £25,000 to Reform UK last year and previously gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservatives.
- Amersi is seeking damages, including aggravated damages, and an injunction.
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