Offices of Murdoch's Russian ad firm searched
Russian investigators have raided the Moscow offices of media billionaire Rupert Murdoch's outdoor advertising firm, the largest in Russia,
By Agencies |
MOSCOW: Russian investigators have raided the Moscow offices of media billionaire Rupert Murdoch's outdoor advertising firm, the largest in Russia, the company said Tuesday. The Monday raid of News Outdoor's offices and two production facilities paralyzed its operations, company spokeswoman Irina Komissarova said. A Moscow court ordered the search as part of an investigation into negligence charges against a top official at the city government's advertising committee, which also was raided Monday, News Outdoor said. Komissarova said that the company faces no charges and the previous appeals for damages were dismissed at two Moscow courts in July.
The Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office, whose officers conducted the search, declined to comment. In June, News Outdoor was accused of receiving illegal discounts on billboard advertising across Moscow from the advertising committee from 2002 to 2007. The city government demanded more than 200 million rubles in damages (more than US$9 million), but its claim was rejected in court. Along with the financial losses from Monday's halt of operations, News Outdoor has suffered ``substantial damage to its reputation,'' the company said in the statement.
The official pressure also threatened to reduce the value of the Russian company, which News Corp. has said it intends to sell. Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., has voiced fears that his investment was not protected in Russia. ``We have great growing business there, but ... the more I read about investments in Russia, the less I like the feel of it,'' he said during an August conference call. ``The more successful we'd be, the more vulnerable we'd be to have it stolen from us, so there we sell now.''
The Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office, whose officers conducted the search, declined to comment. In June, News Outdoor was accused of receiving illegal discounts on billboard advertising across Moscow from the advertising committee from 2002 to 2007. The city government demanded more than 200 million rubles in damages (more than US$9 million), but its claim was rejected in court. Along with the financial losses from Monday's halt of operations, News Outdoor has suffered ``substantial damage to its reputation,'' the company said in the statement.
The official pressure also threatened to reduce the value of the Russian company, which News Corp. has said it intends to sell. Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., has voiced fears that his investment was not protected in Russia. ``We have great growing business there, but ... the more I read about investments in Russia, the less I like the feel of it,'' he said during an August conference call. ``The more successful we'd be, the more vulnerable we'd be to have it stolen from us, so there we sell now.''
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