The civil case in which Larissa Chertok is suing Ian Brodie and NEWS.MC, claiming defamation in an article published in May 2023, was heard at Monaco Criminal Court on Friday, January 5.
The lawyer for Ms Chertok claimed that the article infringed on Ms Chertok’s privacy as well as being defamatory. His client is claiming one euro in damages plus 25,000 euros in legal costs.
Ms Chertok is the sister of Igor Kolomoisky, the Ukrainian oligarch currently facing criminal charges in Kyiv.
Representing the defendants, Me Jim Villetard said that all the relevant information in the article published on May 2 2023 had been previously published in reputable media outlets and was duly cited in the article, which appeared under the headline: Infamous Ukrainian oligarch used Monaco front companies to facilitate money-laundering.
Speaking to the court, Ian Brodie said that the reason that the article was published was because Monaco entities had been used to facilitate possible money-laundering and a lack of transparency at a crucial time for the Principality as it faces heightened scrutiny by the Moneyval organisation of the Council of Europe.
Ian Brodie and NEWS.MC have entered a counterclaim for 10,000 euros each to cover legal expenses.
The President of the Court said that the verdict will be delivered at 09:00 on Friday, January 12.
