A British journalist and her publisher contested a defamation claim in a London court on Wednesday from billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich over a book about the rise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Catherine Belton's book "Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West" charts the rise to wealth and power of former KGB agent Putin and his circle of associates after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.
Abramovich's lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, said the book gave the impression the purchase was "part of a scheme to corrupt the West ... aimed at building a blockhold in the U.K. for Russian influence." Free-speech groups have expressed alarm at the case, saying it is too easy for wealthy people to use Britain's courts to silence criticism.
He said the publisher had "agreed to remove effectively all the material on which the actions are based from future editions of the book" and would apologize for not approaching those two men before publication for comment on statements suggesting they had connections with the KGB early in their careers.
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