LetterOne brings first UK national security appeal over forced broadband sale

LONDON: Russian oligarch-backed investment firm LetterOne on Tuesday asked a London court to rule it was unlawfully ordered to sell a broadband provider, in the first challenge under Britain’s recent national security law to reach London’s High Court.

LetterOne, whose owners include sanctioned oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, was made to sell regional provider Upp in December 2022 over fears that Upp’s ultimate owners were vulnerable to “leverage by the Russian state”.