Russia: Wife of “Darth Vader” Sechin Files Lawsuit Against OCCRP Partner

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The wife of one of Russia’s most powerful men, Igor Sechin, has filed a lawsuit against Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) partner Novaya Gazeta demanding the newspaper take down an article linking her to a luxury super-yacht.

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August 17th, 2016
Sanctions Wealth

In an article also carried by OCCRP, Novaya Gazeta compared social media posts by Olga Sechina with the yacht, “The St. Princess Olga,” and showed that she had had traveled the world aboard the 85.6 meter vessel.

In the suit filed with Moscow’s Basmanny District Court on August 8, lawyers for Sechina accused Novaya Gazeta Editor in Chief Dmitry Muratov and journalist Roman Anin of violating her privacy by publishing online article and printed version of Novaya Gazeta. The lawsuit demanded Novaya Gazeta publicly acknowledge it had interfered in Sechina’s private life and to remove or destroy all printed and online copies of the article.

The lawsuit does not challenge the accuracy of the report, a fact that Anin said vindicated Novaya Gazeta’s work.

“This is not the first lawsuit in my life and not the first lawsuit in the life of Novaya Gazeta,” he told OCCRP. “We don’t take it as a threat. We take it seriously, but we’ll deal with it in court.”

A lawyer for Sechina, Viktor Yuzefovich, declined to comment when contacted by OCCRP.

Igor Sechin, the head of Russian energy giant Rosneft, is a close ally and friend of President Vladimir Putin. His ties to the secret services and tough reputation have earned him the moniker “Darth Vader.”

 

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