A German news agency, dpa, has retracted a report claiming that Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of Alischer Usmanov, is the owner of the luxury yacht Dilbar. The original report, which was later deleted, was based on information from the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on the X platform.
Following a request from Ismailova’s lawyers, dpa has now also withdrawn the report. The agency has also informed its media partners at home and abroad, recommending they delete the report to avoid legal disputes, as confirmed by Usmanov’s press office to the Russian newspaper Vedemosti.
Lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel, who represents Usmanov and Ismailova in court, stated: “The European Union’s courts allow the EU Council to use media reports as evidence to justify sanctions. Then, the media rely on the sanction justification as a privileged source, even though it is based on their own reports. In this way, the media grant themselves the status of a privileged source. This is unacceptable and a clear violation of the fundamental principles of a rule of law.”
The BKA report, which claimed Ismailova possessed the Dilbar yacht in her brother’s interest, was published on Twitter in April 2022. The information was the result of “extensive investigations” according to the BKA at the time. Numerous media outlets picked up the report.
The BKA’s contributions served as the basis for the EU sanctions against Ismailova. They were also a crucial argument for German law enforcement, which subsequently searched the Dilbar yacht.
According to representatives of Usmanov and Ismailova, the Dilbar yacht is part of an irrevocable trust. “Neither Usmanov nor Ismailova had or have rights to the assets of this trust. They cannot dispose of or control them, as all rights lie with the trustee” Usmanov’s press office stated.
The luxury yacht, which was seized due to EU sanctions, has been in the Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss since 2021. Later, it was placed under a restraining order and moved to a shipyard in Bremen.
Recently, Usmanov also won a court case against the German newspaper Tagesspiegel. The paper was prohibited from spreading false claims about the businessman, which served as the basis for the EU sanctions against him. The newspaper is also no longer allowed to report that he owns a property on Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria or the Dilbar yacht.