Philip Zepter

During the early 2000s, Zepter was attacked and defamed by the U.S. "think tank" International Crisis Group, which Zepter sued for libel in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

In a unanimous, 29 January 2010 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided that International Crisis Group falsely stated (seeking an excuse for its false and unfounded claim that Zepter had supported Milošević) that a bank controlled by Zepter was listed on a frozen assets list put out by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control because "International Crisis Group" failed to disclose that any and all financial companies in Serbia were put on that list, regardless of who they were or who they supported.[4]

International Crisis Group's report was written by James Lyon about whom that Court said: "The only evidence shows that Lyon's motive to extort was consistent with blackmailing individuals with reports he believed to be true" and that the "evidence of Lyon's attempted extortion shows poor judgment and is hardly admirable conduct for a reporter."[5]

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also determined and confirmed that Zepter had been a "close personal friend" of Đinđić, and, when requested by Đinđić, had helped the Serbian reform government pay for and arrange the services of a U.S. political consultant who, in turn, arranged for Đinđić and other Serbian officials to meet with the President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of State and several other American officials, to help establish better relations between the United States and the Đinđić' government administration.[5] That remarkable meeting resulted in Đinđić announcing that the United States agreed to write off two thirds of then-Yugoslavia's $12.2 billion debt and to reschedule the remainder.[5] That U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that Mr. Zepter declared his support for Đinđić numerous times, including in a 2001 open letter to the Serbian people in which Zepter stated that "for a number of years, on a daily basis I have lobbied for prosperity and well-being of my country and my people."[3]

The U.S. Court of Appeals also confirmed that for many years Zepter was an "outspoken supporter" and "financial backer" of pro-democratic Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.[5] That Court of Appeals also decided that because of Zepter's extensive personal efforts to support and work for democratic reform in Serbia by, in that U.S. Court's words, "acting as an advisor and financier of the Serbian reform effort."[5] Zepter became a limited public figure which then diminished his ability to continue his lawsuit for libel.