MOSCOW, August 16 (RAPSI) — A court in Russia's southern Krasnodar region is expected to hold a hearing of a defamation lawsuit filed by Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s against businessman Oleg Tinkov and Meta Platforms Inc.* on August 31, Aleksey Melnikov, the plaintiff's lawyer, told RAPSI.

Deripaska believes that his honor, dignity and business reputation were tarnished by Tinkov's statement on Instagram that is owned by Meta Platforms.

Deripaska wants Meta to remove the offending commentary and publish a refutation, according to Melnikov.

In the meantime, Deripaska is seeking 2 billion rubles (about $33 million) in damages from Tinkov 

Tinkov allegedly called Deripaska a thief as he claimed that some businessmen in Russia in the 1990s were buying up nationally owned assets for next to nothing and called them "crooks" writing that such practice went contrary to the rules of the market.

* Meta Platforms that owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, is banned in Russia for extremist activities.