Seven boss is funding defamation case against Nine
BILLIONAIRE Kerry Stokes has confirmed for the first time that he is paying Ben RobertsSmith’s legal fees in his defamation case, and said the embattled war hero had put up his Victoria Cross and other medals as collateral.
Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, has publicly confirmed he was under investigation by the InspectorGeneral of the Australian
Defence Force, and that the Australian Federal Police had been investigating him since 2018.
He strongly denies any wrongdoing and is suing the Nine media group over a series of reports that have made allegations about his actions in Afghanistan.
Mr Stokes, the owner of rival media group Seven West Media, has so far loaned Mr RobertsSmith $1m to fund his defamation action, and confirmed for the first time on Friday that he had provided the money, and that Mr Roberts-Smith had put up his VC – and other medals – as collateral.
“As I said at last week’s AGM, Ben Roberts-Smith VC is a very valuable employee of Seven West Media, has achieved great results in Queensland for us and enjoys our full support,’’ Mr Stokes said in a statement.
“The funding of his legal action is a private matter, however, he has put his medals up as collateral on a loan and will relinquish them if required.
“If this eventuates, I will donate his medals, with Ben’s approval, to the Australian War Memorial, as I have done with other VCs and medals in the past.’’
Mr Stokes is the chairman of the Australian War Memorial and has purchased about 10 medals, including VCs, and donated them to the museum.
Confirmation that Mr Stokes is covering the costs of Mr Roberts-Smith’s defamation action raises another complex issue.
Mr Roberts-Smith is employed by Mr Stokes as general manager of Seven West Media Queensland.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds declined to comment on the financial arrangement between Mr Stokes and Mr Roberts-Smith.