On 29 July, Fordham J handed down the judgment on remedies in the libel claim Mkrtchyan v 2TROM Media Group Ltd & Viktor Tokarev ([2026] EWHC 1923 (KB)).
The claim concerned an article, published in October 2024 on the purported news website The London Post, entitled “Corruption Networks of Uzbekistan: from Washington to Tashkent”. The Claimant, businessman Ovik Mkrtchyan, alleged that the article meant and would be understood to mean that:
(1) He is the key player in an Uzbekistan corruption network, which embezzles state funds using offshore accounts and launders money to gain political favours; and
(2) He used the purchase of a controlling stake in Asia Alliance Bank in 2022 by his company, Gor Investment Ltd, as a front for him to embezzle state funds and corruptly seize control of state assets in Uzbekistan.
The Defendants neither acknowledged nor participated in the proceedings. On 16 February 2026, Master Davison entered judgment in default of acknowledgement of service on the papers and made directions for a remedies hearing, which took place before Fordham J on 23 July 2026.
In his judgment, Fordham J accepted the Claimant’s uncontested Particulars of Claim and evidence in respect of the key issues. He held that Mr Mkrtchyan had suffered serious reputational harm, considering that the allegations of very serious corruption in the context of sovereign state assets were grave and struck at the heart of Mr Mkrtchyan’s professional reputation. Further, the article was presented as a factual report published on an apparently legitimate website which had falsely claimed to be regulated by IPSO. It was written in a sensationalist manner without identifying any by-lined journalist. The court also held that the article was an effective cause of the withdrawal of banking services by Mr Mkrtchyan’s companies in the months following publication, as the article would have been picked up during due diligence checks as one of the few available English-language reports about him. Further, the article was published in the context of a wider campaign of disinformation campaign about Mr Mkrtchyan (albeit the Judge did not make any findings about the position of any third party actors).
Mr Mkrtchyan suffered substantial distress as a result of the article, which caused him to fear for his and his family’s safety.
The court awarded Mr Mkrtchyan £105,000 in general and aggravated damages, an injunction, a s.12 Order and indemnity costs in libel. Aggravated damages and indemnity costs were justified on the basis of the Defendants’ non-engagement and continued publication of the article, despite continuing to update The London Post website throughout the proceedings.
The full judgment can be accessed here.
Gervase de Wilde and Lily Walker-Parr appeared for Mr Mkrtchyan, instructed by Carter Ruck LLP.
