Named, the Uber tycoon in rape case Press gag
AN Uber billionaire gagged the media after he was accused of raping a woman at an exclusive London hotel.
Shervin Pishevar, 43, was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 31-year-old in a penthouse at The Ned in the City in May.
But the Press was unable to report details of the case because Mr Pishevar spent a reported £100,000 in legal fees to stop publication.
The injunction was lifted yesterday after he was exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Iranian-born Mr Pishevar was arrested at The Ned after the woman reported the alleged incident at nearby Bishopsgate station.
Police took samples from the £1,964-a-night suite but the entrepreneur was never charged because of insufficient evidence. he went to the high Court and successfully argued for an injunction, banning the media in england and Wales from naming him as a rape suspect.
Mr Pishevar, who has been an Uber investor since 2013, stopped the Sun newspaper from naming him but details of the case, including his name, were widely reported in the US.
Media law expert geoffrey Robertson QC said
‘Fully cooperated with the police’
last week the situation was absurd because the story was in the public interest.
‘This injunction should not have been imposed in the first place because how the police handle sex complaints is a matter of public interest,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Pishevar’s lawyer said of the case: ‘In May Mr Pishevar was detained briefly in London in connection with an alleged sexual assault, an allegation he categorically denied.
‘he fully cooperated with the police investigation which was exhaustive and detailed. In July he was informed that no further action would be taken against him and he was de-arrested.
‘Mr Pishevar is grateful for the highly professional and expeditious manner in which the inquiry was conducted.’
A police spokesman said: ‘There was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction therefore no further action was taken.’
Mr Pishevar is believed to be friends with Ron Burkle, who developed The Ned with restaurateur Nick Jones. The Silicon Valley mogul is also a prominent Democratic Party donor and number 92 on the Forbes list of top tech investors.