LONDON — British financier Nathaniel Rothschild lost a libel case Friday against the Daily Mail newspaper, which depicted him as a "puppet master" who used his friendship with a European trade chief to impress a Russian oligarch and help close a business deal.
Rothschild, a member of the European banking dynasty, accused the newspaper of damaging his reputation. He said he would appeal the ruling.
The newspaper said Rothschild flew the then-European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson from the 2005 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to Moscow, seeking to impress aluminum billionaire Oleg Deripaska by unexpectedly bringing Mandelson to a dinner with bosses from U.S. aluminum company Alcoa. High Court Judge Michael Tugendhat said Rothschild was "seeking to please" Deripaska and Mandelson.
(Reuters)
