Business alliances between a company and its auditor are prohibited under U.S. law and U.K. auditor regulations.

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"Over the entire history of the company's activities, both before the alliance with News Corp. and after the sale to the strategic investor, NOR conducted its business within Russian law, " a company spokesman said.

WSJ: FBI Probing News Corp.'s Former Billboard Unit in Russia

He earned a law degree from Cambridge University and a master's in business administration from Harvard before joining the family company in 1980.

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