Roman Abramovich claims HarperCollins allowed “false and defamatory” claims about him to appear in a book last year.
Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP
Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich has sued HarperCollins over a book which claims that he acted corruptly and bought the football club on the direction of Vladimir Putin.
The Russian-Israeli businessman claims that the company allowed “false and defamatory” claims about him to appear in a book it published in the UK last year.
‘Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West’ — written by journalist Catherine Belton and published by HarperCollins in April 2020 — alleges Mr Abramovich improperly bought the club at the command of Putin.
Mr Abramovich has said the “false allegations” not only damage his own reputation, but the image of Chelsea FC, which he has owned since 2003. He has also filed claims against Ms Belton after months of discussions with HarperCollins over the contents of the book.
“’Today my legal representatives have issued legal proceedings in England in relation to a book that was published in the UK,” he said in a statement.
‘The book contains a number of false and defamatory statements about me, including about my purchase, and the activities, of Chelsea Football Club.”
He said that the legal action was “not taken lightly”, and added that his legal team had engaged with HarperCollins’ own lawyers in an attempt to find an “amicable resolution”, but this did not prove successful.
“The false allegations in this book are having a damaging effect, not only on my personal reputation, but also in respect of the activities of Chelsea Football Club,” he said.
“I have every belief the courts will give me a fair hearing, as they have in the past.”
Roman Abramovich said that he attempted to find an "amicable solution" with HarperCollins
Credit: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Ms Belton has used two main sources in her book to support her allegations, according to a source to the case.
She has said that she has interviewed the investor Surgei Pugachev on more than 20 occasions, and also spoke to another Russian oligarch, Boris Berezovsky, prior to his death in 2013.
Mr Berezovsky took Mr Abramovich to court in 2012, claiming that he had been forced to sell his stake in an oil company because of threats made by Mr Abramovich as soon as the Putin administration came to power.
However the court ruled that Mr Berezvosky was “an unimpressive and inherently unreliable witness”, and that no threats had been made by Mr Abramovich.
“The author repeats Berezovsky’s old and discredited claims throughout the book, while failing to note the fact these very claims have been rejected by the UK High Court,” a source close to Chelsea told Central News.
Mr Pugachev left Russia for London in 2011 after he faced criminal charges in relation to the International Industrial Bank, which was declared insolvent by the Russian government the previous year.
Pugachev was accused by the Russian government of using the money for his own gain, which he denies, which led to lawyers attempting to freeze his assets.
He then fled England for France in June 2015, but he was subsequently found guilty of contempt of court offences. The following February, the High Court handed Mr Pugachev a two-year prison sentence for breaching court orders.
In addition to the allegations made about Mr Abramovich, the ‘Putin’s People’ book claims that the current Russian president has “waged a concerted campaign to undermine western institutions” and accuses him of interference in US elections.
Mr Abramovich’s net worth is estimated at $19.4 billion, making him one of the richest people in Russia. He is also known for owning the asset management company Millhouse Capital.
Since he took control of the club, Chelsea has won 16 major tournaments including five Premier League titles and five FA Cup trophies.
The club has also had a high turnover of managers in recent years, with Frank Lampard dismissed in January.
In an interview given last week, Mr Abramovich said that the club was “pragmatic in our choices and comfortable making the right changes at the right time” in response to criticism of his approach.
HarperCollins was approached for comment.
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