In 2017, businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven sued Fusion GPS, an intelligence and research firm, as well as Glenn Simpson, one of its founders. They were cofounders of Russia’s Alfa Bank.
Since publication of the Steele dossier, much of its core information has been discredited. One of Steele’s sources has been charged with lying to FBI. A cybersecurity lawyer working for Hillary Clinton has also been charged with lying during a 2016 meeting. He relayed concerns regarding Alfa Bank to the FBI.
However, recent sanctions against the bank and the oligarchs during Russia’s war in Ukraine could have impeded their ability to prove defamation.
Lawyers for Fusion GPS requested a federal judge to dismiss their case on Tuesday. They noted that the sanctions “illustrate in sharp detail that the alleged statements of defamation are true” and that any reasonable trier will find that none of the Plaintiffs can ever prove these statements false.
All three men were included in the United Kingdom’s latest round of sanctions. The United Kingdom said it was “going further than ever” in its efforts to hit those who are closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last month, the Treasury Department sanctioned Alfa Bank as well as other Russian financial institutions. The EU sanctioned Fridman and Aven.
Alfa Bank announced that Fridman, Aven and Khan have resigned from the board. Khan is now on the list of beneficiaries.
Although the oligarchs did not give any explanations for their dismissal, their lawyers stated in a single sentence Friday that both parties had agreed to the court action being “dismissed without prejudice as to all claims and causes of action and parties with each party paying its own attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses.” A lawyer representing the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a message.
Joshua Levy, a lawyer representing Fusion GPS and Simpson, stated in a statement that “we are pleased that plaintiffs decided to leave their case after 4.5 year of unnecessary litigation.”
“At their core, Alfa Bank’s oligarch owners were critical of the observation that they were close with Vladimir Putin and had amassed immense wealth as a result,” continued the statement. “Official statements explaining recent economic restrictions imposed on plaintiffs by UK and EU, we believe, have confirmed that truth.”
