The Russian oil giant Rosneft has filed a lawsuit against Reuters in a Russian court, claiming that parts of a report published by the agency regarding British Petroleum's (BP) decision were defamatory. The lawsuit, filed in the Moscow Arbitration Court on March 16, alleges that several statements attributed to BP executives in the matter are false, including the claim that "Rosneft is not aligned" with BP's strategy, as well as the allegation that a yacht detained by France belonged to Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.
Reuters first published the report on March 9, 2022, and updated it on June 23 to add a comment from Rosneft and correct a reference regarding the time Bernard Looney, BP's CEO, held a seat on Rosneft's board. In the legal complaint, Rosneft requested the court to declare the statements in the report false and for it to be removed and retracted by Reuters.
A spokesperson for the agency stated, "Reuters has always been and remains committed to reporting news with integrity and accuracy for the public interest, in line with Thomson Reuters' trust principles. We are committed to our coverage." Rosneft's court filing stated that a preliminary hearing for the case is set to be held by September 21.
