The Hoffmann und Campe publishing house in Hamburg has stopped selling books about Russian President Vladimir Putin, written by journalist Hubert Seipel, in response to media reports that the author received money from offshore accounts linked to Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov.
"Hoffmann und Campe decided not to offer Hubert Seipel's books for sale in connection with the information published by Der Spiegel and ZDF," the statement from the editorial office reads, as reported by DPA (cited by Sueddeutsche Zeitung).
The day before, Spiegel and ZDF reported that Hubert Seipel received 600,000 euros from Mordashov's offshore accounts as part of a "sponsorship agreement." Within the framework of this contract, Seipel wrote the book "Putin's Power. Why Russia to Europe?" which was published in 2021. Journalists also learned that in 2013 Seipel entered into a similar "sponsorship agreement" for a separate sum for the book "Putin. The Logic of Power" (published by Hoffmann und Campe in 2015).
The publisher stated that it was unaware of the described facts. A representative of Hoffmann und Campe stated that if the facts reported by journalists are confirmed, the publishing house reserves the right to take legal action.
