Economist settles libel case with Russian businessman

Luke Harding of The Guardian in London reports that the Economist has reached an out-of-court settlement with a Russian businessman who had alleged he was libeled by the magazine.

Harding writes, “The article, part of a Russia series, also mentioned Timchenko’s alleged links with Putin. Timchenko is a highly reclusive billionaire oil trader who lives in Geneva, Switzerland. He appeared for the first time last year in the Forbes annual rich list, as the list’s highest new entrant, with a fortune estimated at $2.5bn (£1.5bn).

“The Economist said today: ‘Gunvor, Mr Gennady Timchenko and the Economist are pleased to announce they have settled the libel litigation brought by Gunvor and Mr Timchenko over an article published in last November’s Economist.’ An agreed text will be published in tomorrow’s issue.

“Timchenko co-founded Gunvor more than 10 years ago. The company is the world’s third-largest oil trader and exports about a third of Russia’s seaborne oil. Timchenko has denied accusations that Gunvor had won favourable contracts with Russia’s state-oil companies because of his alleged friendship with Putin.”

Read more here.