Defamation lawsuit by Kolmar Group AG: a second important acquittal for freedom of information

Berne, Zurich, Lausanne, January 28, 2026

Bern, Switzerland 28 January 2026 - The Bernese justice system, ruling on appeal, confirmed the acquittal on charges of ‘slander and defamation’ of the authors of a report by Public Eye and TRIAL International on Kolmar Group AG's involvement in the Libyan gasoil trade between 2014 and 2015, in the context of the civil war in Libya. Following detailed reasoning, the Court dismissed the trader’s appeal, confirming the robustness of the investigation. This unequivocal judgment sends a strong signal in favour of freedom of information. If Kolmar continues on this path, the legal battle will continue in Zug, where the trader has initiated civil proceedings seeking US$1.8 million in damages.

In its ruling, the Bernese Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Bern-Mittelland Regional Court of February 2024. It highlighted the quality of the “detailed and coherent” journalistic work carried out by the three authors of the report “Libyan fuel smuggling: a Swiss trader sailing through troubled waters”, published in March 2020 by Public Eye and TRIAL International. The court found that Kolmar had erred in pursuing its criminal complaint, and went even further than the court of first instance: the trader will be required to pay the procedural costs and the legal fees of the acquitted individuals. Public Eye and TRIAL International, as well as the acquitted individuals, welcome this important judgment in favour of freedom of information, at a time when judicial pressure on the media and NGOs is increasing in Switzerland.

The report was the result of over a yearlong investigation conducted in Switzerland, Malta and Sicily. It documented the involvement of the Zug-based Kolmar Group AG in the trade of Libyan gasoil between 2014 and 2015, when the country was in the midst of a civil war. In particular, the investigators were able to trace 22 shipments of gasoil transported by three vessels that travelled from the Libyan coast and were unloaded in storage tanks leased by the Zug-based trader in Malta. According to the documents obtained, these petroleum products originated from a transnational network smuggling gasoil looted from state-owned oil refineries in Libya. The fuel – subsidised and intended for the population – was diverted by this network with the complicity of an armed group, transferred from Libyan fishing boats to ships chartered by two Maltese businessmen in international waters, and then transported to Malta.

In May 2020, TRIAL International filed a criminal complaint (dénonciation pénale) with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Shortly thereafter, the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) issued a communication referring to “an identical context”, according to the OAG. In November 2020, a criminal investigation against unknown persons was opened in connection to these facts for “suspicion of war crimes by plundering” (art. 264g, para. 1 let. c of the Criminal Code). This investigation remains ongoing, as confirmed by the federal criminal prosecution authority.

The case is continuing before the Zug Cantonal Court, where, in September 2023, Kolmar Group AG filed a civil action for defamation against Public Eye and TRIAL International, as well as against the authors of the report. The company is seeking US$1.8 million in alleged damages. According to publicly available information, no comparable amount has ever been claimed from an NGO in Switzerland on the grounds of an alleged infringement of personality rights. A trial is expected to take place in 2026.

The journalists and NGOs hope that the acquittal on appeal will mark the beginning of the end of this case, an assessment also reflected in the Supreme Court’s ruling.

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