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Britain orders Russian oligarch-backed firm to sell broadband provider Upp over national security concerns
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Britain has instructed a company backed by a Russian oligarch to sell a regional broadband provider over national security concerns.
Upp, which supplies fiber optic internet to the east of England and the East Midlands, was bought in 2021 by Luxembourg-based investment manager LetterOne as part of a £1 billion scheme to create a competitor to BT in the area.
LetterOne is owned by several Russian oligarchs, including billionaire Alfa Group co-founder Mikhail Fridman, who was sanctioned by the UK following its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
LetterOne – which bought British broadband provider Upp in 2021 – is owned by several Russian oligarchs, including Mikhail Fridman, the billionaire co-founder of the Alfa Group conglomerate
Other owners include Fridman’s co-founder of Alfa, German Khan, and Petr Aven, who until March this year headed Alfa Bank, the largest commercial bank in Russia. Both men have also been sanctioned by the UK.
Company Secretary Grant Shapps said he found LetterOne’s ownership of Upp “a risk to national security” following a review under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act.
Shapps instructed LetterOne to sell Upp and for the broadband provider to conduct a security audit of its network prior to the sale.
LetterOne, which also owns health retailer Holland & Barrett, said it was disappointed, adding it had not faced sanctions and had taken “swift, decisive action” to distance itself from the Russian founders.