LONDON, March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
- A UK business, Jusan Technologies Limited ("JTL") has commenced two defamation claims in the English Court, the first against The Bureau of Investigative Journalism ("TBIJ") and the Telegraph Media Group Limited ("TMGL"), and the second against openDemocracy Limited ("OD").
- The claims relate to articles published by these publishers which allege that JTL is a corrupt vehicle through which the former President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, controlled an international business empire. In addition, TBIJ and OD have claimed that JTL's complaints regarding their initial publications amount to improper or abusive legal proceedings pursued by Mr Nazarbayev himself, and are therefore so-called "SLAPPs" (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
- JTL was left with no choice other than to bring proceedings to vindicate itself with respect to these allegations and obtain an injunction to prevent their repetition.
BACKGROUND
JTL has commenced the following claims in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales:
1. A claim in connection with:
a. an article published by OD on 21 January 2022, which alleges that JTL is part of an "opaque network" which links Mr Nazarbayev to US$7.8bn in assets. OD also claims that JTL participated in a US$200 million transaction with a third party at a significant undervalue. JTL was not offered any opportunity prior to publication to verify the factual accuracy of and respond to these allegations; and
b. an article published by OD on 19 October 2022, which alleges that in response to OD's earlier article, JTL and its legal advisers were being used by Mr Nazarbayev to pursue an abusive legal action simply to silence his critics.
2. A claim in connection with:
a. an article published by TBIJ on 17 February 2022, which alleges that JTL was being used by former president Nazarbayev "to help safeguard [his] multibillion-dollar empire";
b. two articles published simultaneously (in print and online) by TBIJ's publication partner, TMGL, on 17 February 2022, which alleges that Mr Nazarbayev "controlled $7.8bn (£5.8bn) in assets" via JTL and that JTL was "at the centre of the financial interests of a key ally of Vladimir Putin"; and
c. an article published by TBIJ on 19 October 2022, which made the allegation that in response to TBIJ's earlier reporting, JTL was being used by Mr Nazarbayev to pursue an improper legal action simply to silence journalists and shut down investigative journalism in the public interest.
DETAILS
JTL stresses that, in these lawsuits, it does not seek to silence truthful journalism in the public interest. JTL has no objection to robust reporting in relation to Mr Nazarbayev or his family.
The articles portray JTL as having been owned and/or controlled by or for the benefit of Mr Nazarbayev and the claims as having been brought at his behest. Mr Nazarbayev has never had, directly or indirectly, any role in or control over JTL's assets or how it uses its funds. He cannot sell JTL's assets and neither he nor his family exert any controlling interest. Mr Nazarbayev does not sit on the boards of JTL or its direct or indirect parent companies, nor is he a shareholder, either directly or indirectly, of any companies in the group. Since its inception, JTL has been managed by an independent board of directors, each with fiduciary obligations under UK law, and takes any decisions independently of Mr Nazarbayev.
JTL is a bona fide UK company that, together with its group companies, supports funding Western-style education in Kazakhstan, through Nazarbayev University ("NU"), Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools ("NIS") and their organisations. JTL has preferred to operate in the UK (ranked 11 of 180 jurisdictions in Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perception Index) in order to keep its assets safe as a result of the UK's strong culture of the rule of law, and thereby safeguard NU and NIS for future generations. In fact, JTL (together with its parent company) has recently even initiated separate proceedings in the US against the Republic of Kazakhstan and others in order to continue to protect and further the group's charitable educational objectives. Further details regarding this claim is available at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jysan-holdings-files-federal-lawsuit-against-kazakh-government-in-nevada-to-halt-campaign-to-expropriate-education-funds-301749319.html.
JTL tried to resolve the claims against these publishers amicably out of court, including by making clear prior to issuing proceedings that its key objective is to correct the falsehoods in the articles, and offering to donate damages to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Although TBIJ and OD have each accepted certain inaccuracies in their reporting and published updates and clarifications in respect of them, they have refused either to publish suitable corrections which adequately meet JTL's complaints, or to remove the defamatory articles from their websites. Given the seriousness of the allegations of financial and other wrongdoing, JTL was compelled to pursue legal complaints against each publisher.
JTL is confident that it is not complicit in any SLAPPs and has already included this allegation as an issue in the Proceedings brought in the High Court's specialist Media and Communications List, so that the Court can consider it in detail and make findings as appropriate in due course.
JTL is entitled to pursue legal recourse to vindicate its reputation in respect of false and damaging allegations and to put a stop to the publication of such falsehoods; just as the publishers are entitled to defend the claims on any grounds properly available to them. JTL is hopeful that its claims brought in support of truthful journalism will be upheld following a full ventilation of the facts and laws in the proper forum. But even if the publishers prevail in the claims, it obviously does not follow that such claims would be characterised as an abuse of process, as the SLAPP label implies: it is the function of the Court process to adjudicate on the issues that arise between the parties and the defendants are entitled to advance whatever defence(s) are properly available to them; in this respect there is nothing unusual about its claims.
A spokesperson for JTL commented:
"JTL is independently audited and its financial statements are publicly available. JTL employs rigorous standards of compliance and corporate governance in its operations. Out of fairness to the claimants and defendants alike, JTL has no wish to litigate its claims through the media. At this time, we note only that JTL continues to support truthful journalism in the public interest and stresses that in these lawsuits, it does not seek to silence proper reporting. However, these articles are highly defamatory of JTL, a UK company, which was seeking to expand its operations when these articles were published. The defendant publishers' hostility to accountability is troubling. The claims are not "SLAPP" actions; they are backed by facts and law. Regrettably, JTL's efforts to resolve these claims amicably were rebuffed and JTL was therefore compelled to defend itself against the erroneous claims that continue to be made against it in the press.
"These claims are being pursued in order for the correct position to be made clear and to encourage accurate reporting going forward."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Jusan Technologies Ltd is a UK-registered business which holds assets and investments primarily in Kazakhstan including in real estate, telecoms, banking, logistics and insurance. Its main source of income and revenue comes from First Heartland Securities JSC, which owns First Heartland Jusan Bank JSC.
JTL is represented in the UK proceedings by Prateek Swaika of Boies Schiller Flexner (UK) LLP. The cases are Jusan Technologies Ltd v The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and another, and Jusan Technologies Ltd v openDemocracy Ltd, case numbers QB-2022-002660 and QB-2022-002661, in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jusan-technologies-limited-brings-claims-in-english-court-to-clear-its-name-301761667.html
