Dpa retracts 2022 report claiming Alicher Usmanov's sister owns the yacht Dilbar, according to the entrepreneur's press service.

2025-02-21 10:40:53https://daryo.uz/ru/2025/02/20/dpa-retracts-2022-report-on-claimed-ownership-of-yacht-dilbar

Dpa retracts 2022 news about Alisher Usmanov's sister owning the Dilbar yacht - entrepreneur's press service

The German news agency dpa has retracted its 2022 article claiming that Alisher Usmanov's sister, Gulbahor Ismailova, is allegedly the owner of the Dilbar yacht, according to a statement from the entrepreneur's press service. It is clarified that this decision was made following a request from lawyers demanding the removal of false information.

According to Usmanov's press service, the information disseminated by dpa was previously used by the EU Council to justify sanctions imposed against Ismailova, and also served as grounds for searches conducted by German law enforcement agencies on the yacht in 2022. The statement notes that the original source of this information was a statement from the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA), published on April 13, 2022, on the social network X, in which Ismailova was mentioned as the owner of the Dilbar.

After receiving an official request from Ismailova's lawyers, the BKA removed its publications. On February 17 and 18, 2025, dpa informed its partner media outlets about the retraction and recommended that they remove their publications “to avoid legal disputes”. According to the press service, following this, the materials were removed from the websites of publications such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Zeit, Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, and others.

The statement includes a comment from media law attorney Joachim Steinhoefel, representing the interests of Usmanov and Ismailova:

EU courts allow the EU Council to refer to media reports to justify sanctions, while the media in turn uses the justification for sanctions based on their own reports as a privileged source. This is absurd and a clear violation of the fundamental principles of a constitutional state.

The press service also reminded that representatives of Usmanov and Ismailova have repeatedly stated that the Dilbar yacht is held in an irrevocable trust established by Alisher Usmanov as part of estate planning.

Neither A. Usmanov nor G. Ismailova had or have any rights to the assets of the trust, cannot dispose of them or exercise any control over them, as all rights belong to its trustee,

- the statement reads.

According to the press service, from 2023 to 2025, several European media and public figures acknowledged that they could not confirm the claims regarding Alisher Usmanov and Gulbahor Ismailova, and signed commitments to cease their dissemination. The statement notes that around 40 such statements were made during this period, and dozens of publications voluntarily removed or corrected their articles after receiving notifications from their representatives.

The press service also reported that during the legal proceedings, lawyers secured more than 10 rulings prohibiting the dissemination of certain claims by European and American media.

In January 2024, a court prohibited publications by the American magazine Forbes that were used to justify EU sanctions against Usmanov.

A. Usmanov also won a case against the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, the Austrian newspaper Kurier, and major German broadcasters RTL and ARD/Westdeutscher Rundfunk,

- the press service emphasized in conclusion.