£220m Payment at Core of BBC Trial Over Lost Knighthood Claim

Mohamed Amersi lost the opportunity to receive a knighthood and a peerage because of BBC allegations linking him to corruption, the High Court heard on Wednesday. The donor to both the Conservative Party and Reform UK is suing the broadcaster over a 2021 Panorama episode and a related article.

The legal dispute centers on a $220 million payment made in January 2010 to a Gibraltar company named Takilant. At the time, Amersi served as an adviser to the Swedish telecoms company Telia, which was then known as TeliaSonera, in Uzbekistan.

The 2021 reporting asserted there were strong grounds to suspect Amersi was involved in deals he knew or should have known were corrupt. The BBC alleged that Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's president, was the real beneficial owner of Takilant. Karimova is said to have held influence over the country's telecoms regulator.

Amersi's barrister, Oliver Powell, stated that the coverage caused his client "very serious harm." Powell read a witness statement in which Amersi claimed the publicity forced him to step back from his educational philanthropy. Amersi stated that the "scandal cost me a knighthood and a peerage" and that Union Bancaire Privée of Switzerland closed his accounts.

The timeline of the events began with Amersi's work in Uzbekistan. He described his role as limited to fewer than six weeks in December 2009 and 2010. He argues that no contemporaneous evidence shows he knew or should have known of Karimova's alleged ownership of Takilant.

The BBC defends the material on the grounds of truth and public interest. In its written defence, the broadcaster argued there was no evidence Amersi suffered serious reputational harm. The BBC stated that "no corroborating documentary evidence to support Mr Amersi's assertions has been disclosed" and suggested his statement contained factual inaccuracies.

The defense relies on admissions Telia made to the US Department of Justice in a 2017 deferred prosecution agreement. Powell described those admissions as untested "hearsay" that deserve "little or no weight." He cited a legal review commissioned by Telia that interviewed Amersi. That review was "unable to determine with any certainty that there was any legal or financial connection between Takilant and Gulnara Karimova."

The BBC alleges Telia entered into a series of corrupt deals and payments for businesses in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Nepal. Amersi contends the broadcaster has produced no evidence of his knowledge of or involvement in corruption in any of those countries. Powell told the court the BBC was offering "inference and generalised suspicion rather than any evidential foundation." Amersi claims the broadcaster seriously misled viewers and readers by suggesting he was centrally involved in paying a "bribe" to Karimova.

Amersi donated £25,000 to Reform UK last year and previously gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservatives. He is seeking damages, including aggravated damages, and an injunction to stop further publication of the statements he deems defamatory.

Amersi is scheduled to give evidence for six days starting on 11 November. The trial continues.