The court ruled that the statements the defendants circulated did not correspond to reality and damaged the businessman's honor, dignity and business reputation, lawyer Alexei Melnikov told Interfax. The compensation was reduced from the 1 billion rubles Deripaska had sought, RBC reported, citing Melnikov.
The suit centered on the video "Organized crime group, officials, girls. The criminal biography of Oleg Deripaska," published on the Navalny Live channel. Its description alleged that the businessman got his start alongside the Izmailovo organized crime group, built corruption ties at the very top, interfered in US elections and did business with Europe in defiance of sanctions.
Beyond the damages, the court ordered the defendants to delete the video and publish a retraction. The claim was filed in June 2026; the press service of Moscow's courts said at the time that, according to Deripaska, the five defendants had "for several years been waging a large-scale campaign against him aimed at defaming his honor and good name."
This is not Deripaska's first legal battle with Navalny's team. In August, a court partially upheld his suit against Pevchikh over her statement that the billionaire "chips in for a private military company." In September, a Moscow court also upheld the businessman's suit against Vazhnye Istorii and Verstka, which reported that he was mentioned in a case involving the recruitment of minors into sexual services.
Deripaska previously sought the removal of the Anti-Corruption Foundation's investigation into his vacation on a yacht with then-Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko and an escort agency employee, as well as material on the loans-for-shares auctions and on his ties to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In 2022, the Zelenograd District Court of Moscow upheld his suit against Alexei Navalny, Pevchikh, Georgy Alburov and The Insider over the investigation into Lavrov.