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Berlin — International ticket re-seller Viagogo filed a suit on Tuesday against superstar Ed Sheeran's promoter for fraud on allegations the company confiscated genuine tickets from concert-goers and forced them to purchase new tickets, the company said.
Viagogo said its suit filed in Germany alleges Stuart Galbraith and his company, Britain-based Kilimanjaro Live Ltd., defrauded fans out of several million pounds (dollars) on Ed Sheeran's recent 2017 tour.
It alleges the promoter set up fake Viagogo booths at venues "luring fans into declaring that they were Viagogo customers. The promoter then confiscated their authentic tickets and forced fans to buy new ones."
Kilimanjaro rejected the claim, telling The Associated Press in an email it will "defend against this action vigorously and looks forward to doing so in court."
"The claims made today by Viagogo are ludicrous, laughable and most importantly totally false," Kilimanjaro said.
The promotor called the suit a "transparent attempt to deflect attention" from Viagogo's upcoming appearance before British parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which is looking into secondary ticketing operations.
Viagogo wouldn't say why it chose Germany to file its initial suit, citing "legal reasons" but says it's the start of litigation "being taken in multiple countries."
Ed Sheeran will be touring South Africa for the first-time in March 2019. The tour is completely sold out with local fans scooping up all the tickets just days after they went on sale.
ED SHEERAN SA TOUR INFORMATION:
Johannesburg: 23 March at FNB Stadium - sold out
Johannesburg: 24 March at FNB Stadium - sold out
Cape Town: 27 March at Cape Town Stadium - sold out
