Critical Russian newspaper hit with record fine
Publish date: 02 November 2004
Issue Number: 1208
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Media
In what has been slammed as a politically motivated decision, one of Russias most critical daily newspapers, the Kommersant, has been slapped with a record $10m legal bill after losing a defamation case against the country\'s largest private bank.
The Financial Times reports Moscows Arbitration Court awarded the damages to Alfa Bank. The papers owner, the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who has become an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, criticised the decision and insisted he would continue to finance the newspaper. Alfa sued Kommersant after it ran an article in July on financial difficulties at the bank, which suffered a substantial run on deposits and contributed to a mini banking crisis over the summer. Full report in the Financial Times
