Judgment in Ovik Mkrtchyan and (1) 2TROM Media Group Ltd and (2) Viktor Tokarev [2026] EWHC 1923 (KB) has been handed down following a trial on the issue of remedies.

Mr Mkrtchyan, a prominent businessman and entrepreneur, issued proceedings on 22 April 2025 over the publication of serious, false and defamatory allegations concerning wrongdoing made in an article published by The London Post on 19 October 2024. Mr Mkrtchyan’s position is that the article arose in the context of a campaign of disinformation against him.

The Court has ordered that the Defendants shall do the following:

  • Remove the article complained of.
  • Pay Mr Mkrtchyan the sum of £105,000 in general and aggravated damages.
  • Publish a summary of the Judgment on the homepage of The London Post’s
  • Pay Mr Mkrtchyan’s legal costs on the indemnity basis and in full.

An injunction was also awarded to prevent the Defendants from re-publishing the same or similar allegations.

The Judgment notes that the article was published as part of an “apparently coordinated disinformation “Campaign” carried out against the Claimant and his family members and business associates, escalating from August 2024 onwards”. The Judgment further notes that the article makes “extremely serious allegations of wrongdoing against the Claimant and his businesses, with a lack of precision or detail, which suggests it was written and published with no concern for the veracity of its content, or any associated legal risk” and that it “was published as part of the Campaign, and not as an exercise in legitimate and responsible journalism”.

The Court held that Mr Mkrtchyan had suffered serious reputational harm with the allegations going to the heart of his professional life.

Mr Mkrtchyan considers the Judgment to be a significant milestone in countering the campaign of disinformation about him.

Mr Mkrtchyan was represented by a Carter-Ruck team consisting of Nigel Tait, James Watkins and Isabella Theocharous, along with a counsel team comprising Gervase de Wilde and Lily Walker-Parr of 5RB.

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