Thursday, 15 January 2009

Ex-KGB Man 'To Buy UK Newspaper'

Russian oligarch and former KGB agent is expected to strike a deal to buy a controlling stake in the London Evening Standard.Skip related content

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Ex-KGB Man 'To Buy UK Newspaper'

According to reports, Alexander Lebedev is to buy 76% of the newspaper, with the Associated Newspapers group retaining 24%.

If the deal goes ahead, it will be the first time a British newspaper has been owned by a former foreign spy.

It is understood the deal will be signed with the Daily Mail & General Trust today after a year of secret negotiations with its chairman Lord Rothermere.

DMGT have so far declined to comment.

Mr Lebedev is reported as saying he read the Evening Standard and other British newspapers when he was a young spy at the Soviet embassy in London in the late 1980s.

He has reportedly claimed he has no intention of interfering in British politics and promised a hands-off approach.

In May last year, Forbes ranked Mr Lebedev the world's 358th richest billionaire, with a fortune of US$3.1bn.

His fortune was made mostly through stakes in banking and insurance companies and through Russian airline Aeroflot, in which he has a stake.