Rothschild Loses Daily Mail Libel Suit Over Deripaska Claims

Nathaniel Rothschild, chairman and co-founder of Bumi Plc (BUMI), lost a lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper for an article describing a 2005 meeting with politician Peter Mandelson and Oleg Deripaska.

The paper claimed Rothschild arranged for Mandelson to attend a dinner in Moscow to close a deal between Alcoa Inc. and Deripaska’s United Co. Rusal Plc (RUALR), which led to the loss of 300 British jobs.

Judge Michael Tugendhat ruled in favor of Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd., saying he determined the article was “substantially true.” Meanwhile, Rothschild “had not been entirely candid throughout the different stages of the case,” the judge said, referring to the reasons given for a trip to Siberia.

Rothschild, 40, said in a statement he was disappointed with the decision and he intended to appeal. He said the Alcoa deal had been completed before he arrived in Moscow and Mandelson’s trip to Russia was “entirely recreational.”

“Mandelson’s trip to Russia was entirely recreational -- as the Court has accepted -- and Lord Mandelson had obtained clearance for the trip from his office before undertaking it,” Rothschild said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kit Chellel in London at cchellel@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net