Donor Sues BBC Over Corruption Claims That Ended His Chances at Knighthood

A donor to two major UK political parties has taken the BBC to the High Court, claiming that a 2021 investigation into his business dealings cost him a knighthood and a peerage. Mohamed Amersi’s case began on Wednesday, with his legal team asserting that the broadcaster’s coverage caused him severe damage to his personal and professional reputation.

The dispute centers on a Panorama episode titled Pandora Papers: Political Donors Exposed and a related article that remains online. The report alleged that while working for the Swedish telecoms company Telia, Amersi was involved in transactions he knew or should have known were corrupt. His barrister, Oliver Powell, stated that these assertions struck at the core of his client's integrity.

In a witness statement read to the court, Amersi detailed the personal fallout from the coverage. He said the publicity compelled him to step back from his educational philanthropy. He also noted that Union Bancaire Privée of Switzerland closed his accounts. Amersi specifically told the court, “The scandal cost me a knighthood and a peerage.”

The BBC is defending the material by arguing it was true and served the public interest. In its written defense, the broadcaster contended that Amersi failed to prove he suffered serious reputational harm. It noted that no corroborating documentary evidence supporting his claims had been disclosed and suggested his statements contained factual errors.

The original 2021 reporting focused on a $220 million payment made in January 2010 to a Gibraltar company named Takilant. The BBC’s position is that Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan’s president, was the real beneficial owner of Takilant. Karimova is said to have influenced the country’s telecoms regulator. Amersi maintains that neither he nor Telia knew or suspected of her ownership at the time.

Powell challenged the BBC’s evidence, pointing to admissions Telia made to the US Department of Justice in a 2017 deferred prosecution agreement. He described these admissions as untested hearsay that should carry little weight in court. He also cited a legal review commissioned by Telia that interviewed Amersi. That review concluded it could not determine with certainty any legal or financial connection between Takilant and Karimova.

Amersi describes his involvement in Uzbekistan as limited to fewer than six weeks across December 2009 and 2010. He argues that no contemporaneous records show he knew or should have known about Karimova’s alleged ownership. Powell told the court that the BBC was relying on inference and generalized suspicion rather than a solid evidential foundation. He claimed the broadcaster misled audiences by suggesting Amersi was centrally involved in paying a bribe to Karimova.

Amersi is seeking damages, including aggravated damages, and an injunction to stop the further publication of the statements he considers defamatory. He donated £25,000 to Reform UK last year and previously gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party. He is scheduled to give evidence for six days starting on 11 November. The trial continues.