Donor sues BBC over corruption report that blocked honors

Mohamed Amersi has sued the BBC for defamation, arguing that a 2021 Panorama episode and a related online article damaged his reputation enough to block his path to a knighthood and a peerage. The high court heard these claims on Wednesday as the trial opened. Amersi, who donated £25,000 to Reform UK last year and provided hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party previously, says the coverage forced him to step back from his educational philanthropy.

The 2021 program, titled Pandora Papers: Political Donors Exposed, alleged that Amersi was involved in deals he knew or should have known were corrupt during his time as an adviser to Telia, the Swedish telecoms company. His barrister, Oliver Powell, told the court that these claims went to the heart of his client's integrity and caused very serious harm. Powell cited a witness statement in which Amersi claimed the scandal led Union Bancaire Privée of Switzerland to close his accounts.

The reporting focused on a $220 million payment made in January 2010 to a Gibraltar company named Takilant. The BBC asserted that Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's president, was the real beneficial owner of Takilant. Powell countered that neither Amersi nor Telia knew or suspected Karimova's ownership. He argued that the BBC relied on untested hearsay from a 2017 deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice, which he said should carry little weight in court.

In its written defense, the BBC argued the material was true and in the public interest. The broadcaster stated that no corroborating documentary evidence of serious reputational harm had been disclosed. It also suggested that Amersi's statement contained factual inaccuracies regarding the extent of his involvement. The BBC alleged that Telia entered into a series of corrupt deals in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Nepal.

Amersi maintains that his work in Uzbekistan was limited to fewer than six weeks in late 2009 and early 2010. He says no contemporary evidence shows he knew about Karimova's alleged control over the country's telecoms regulator. Powell described the BBC's case as inference and generalized suspicion rather than an evidential foundation. The donor seeks damages and an injunction to stop further publication of the statements he deems defamatory.

A legal review commissioned by Telia interviewed Amersi and could not determine with certainty any legal or financial connection between Takilant and Karimova. Amersi is scheduled to give evidence for six days starting on November 11. The trial continues in the high court.