The chief executive of the craft beer company BrewDog, James Watt, has brought a private prosecution against a woman who he claims provided false information about who was responsible for “malicious” comments made about him on social media.
In a pre-trial hearing at Westminster magistrates court, lawyers acting for Watt set out the allegations against Emili Ziem, accusing her of fraud and malicious communication.
Lawyers for Ziem, 29, a Brazilian and Japanese citizen, indicated that she is preparing to contest the claims and will not comment on the details of the case while proceedings are active.
The first charge, of fraud, accuses her of “dishonestly” saying that she had obtained information about “people responsible for malicious communications” about Watt.
It is said that she was “intending to make a gain” for herself and to cause loss to him, or expose him to the risk of loss.
The second charge, of malicious communication, accuses her of sending posts from an Instagram account with the username Laurakeller341 “which conveyed information which was false and which you knew or believed to be false for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom you intended that it or its contents or nature should be communicated”.
Ziem, who has no permanent UK address and gave an address in Norway, has indicated that she disputes both the allegations. She was granted bail with no restrictions.
The case was allocated to Southwark crown court for a further pre-trial hearing on 1 June.
A spokesperson for Watt, contacted after hearing, said: “We cannot comment on a live criminal case.”
The case is a private prosecution brought by Watt, rather than his company BrewDog, which is Britain’s largest craft brewer. Cofounded by Watt in 2007, it has grown to be valued at more than £2bn, with about 2,000 staff, more than 100 bars around the world and beers stocked in major supermarkets including Tesco.
A private prosecution is one initiated by a private individual or entity, rather than someone acting on behalf of the police or other prosecuting authority.
In some cases, the Crown Prosecution Service will take over the prosecution but it can still proceed even if this not the case. The CPS can also stop a private prosecution from going ahead under a range of circumstances.
Grosvenor Law is acting for Watt, while Ziem is represented by Bark & Co.
