LONDON (Reuters) – Harpercollins said on Wednesday it had settled a libel dispute with Russian businessman Roman Abramovich over a book about President Vladimir Putin by agreeing to amend certain passages relating to the reasons for buying Chelsea football club.
“HarperCollins and Catherine Belton have settled their dispute with Roman Abramovich over certain passages in Putin’s People,” it said in a statement.
“HarperCollins and the author apologise that these aspects of the book were not as clear as they would have liked them to have been and are happy to have now clarified the text.”
Abramovich said through a spokesperson that the apology and changes to the book were welcome.
“We are pleased that HarperCollins and the author have apologised to Mr Abramovich and agreed to amend the book, removing several false claims about him,” his spokesperson said. “These statements lacked evidence and were indeed false.”
“We have not asked for any damages to be paid. We have, however, asked that HarperCollins makes a donation in lieu of damages to a charitable organization, to which they have agreed,” the spokesperson said.
Belton was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Toby Chopra)
