Alisher Usmanov has won his defamation case against Alexei Navalny, who has since been ordered to retract comments made about the Russian billionaire.

• Usmanov had sued Navalny after blogger accused him of corruption
• Judge ruled that information provided undermined Usmanov’s “honour, dignity and reputation”
• Usmanov believed he conducted a “bona fide business transaction”

Alisher Usmanov had been accused by Alexei Navalny of corruption in favour of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

However Navalny, who gained fame by exposing government corruption on his blog, has had his claims dismissed by the Lioublinksy court in Moscow, reports Le Matin. The court ruled that Navalny’s information undermined Usmanov’s “honour, dignity and reputation”.

Navalny has been ordered to retract his remarks.

Usmanov is said to be worth $15bn and is one of the richest men in the world. He currently owns 33% of Arsenal’s shares and has made no secret of his desire to have a majority stake in the club.

The Financial Times reported last month that Usmanov had made a bid for Stan Kroenke’s 66% stake in the club, which was rejected.

Usmanov is known for his timely interviews in which he calls for change at Arsenal during periods of bad form in a season.

There are some fans that believe that Usmanov would have Arsenal’s best interests at heart and would play a more active role in elevating the club back up to the level it was at a decade ago.

But the billionaire can’t escape claims, albeit unproven, of curruption. And such accusations won’t help his image to the Arsenal supporters.