Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, whose holding company AF Telecom owns almost a third of mobile operator Megafon, is trying to get Russia's government to block Megafon's merger with Turkish operator Turkcell, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported. The paper cites another Megafon shareholder saying AF Telecom asked a legal consultancy to write a letter to Russia's Communications Ministry complaining that the merger of the two mobile operators would be illegal. The Communications Ministry confirmed it has received the letter, in which the legal consultancy argues that the combination of Alfa Group and TeliaSonera's stakes in Turkcell and Megafon would break Russia's law on strategic sectors, since the Swedish and Finnish governments would have a controlling influence in the new company.
