The investment business that owns Upp asserts that it has taken significant measures to separate itself from its sanctioned stockholders.
National security concerns prompted the business secretary to order an investment group backed by sanctioned Russian oligarchs to sell regional broadband provider Upp.
Grant Shapps found that LetterOne, often known as L1, posed a threat to national security.
Among its investors is the sanctioned Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Fridman.
The decision was taken by the National Security and Investment Act, which went into effect earlier this year in advance of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It enables the government to examine acquisitions and investments in critical industries and potentially block them.
As a result of Vladimir Putin’s conflict, the West has imposed a series of sanctions on Russian individuals, banks, and critical industries.
Mr. Shapps angered South Wales with his decision to force the Chinese owners of the Newport Wafer Fab microchip business to surrender a majority stake just one month ago.
L1 was instructed to sell 100 percent of Upp, a provider of services in the East of England and East Midlands, within a set time frame and through a specified procedure.
The order also requires Upp to conduct a comprehensive network security audit before the sale.
L1 responded, “We do not feel that L1’s ownership of Upp poses any harm to national security.”
“L1 is not sanctioned and has acted swiftly and decisively to remove itself from its sanctioned shareholders.”
“They have no role in L1 and no access to facilities, infrastructure, personnel, finances, or any benefits of any kind.”
In 2021, it acquired Upp, formerly known as Fibre Me Limited.
