“Echo of Moscow” received a letter from Roskomnadzor about the possible closure of the radio station

The radio station “Echo of Moscow” received a letter from Roskomnadzor about the possible closure of the media, RNS reports . This information was confirmed to the agency by the editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy, Alexey Venediktov.

“We received this letter and our lawyers are working on it,” Venediktov said.

He explained that the claims against Echo are related to the fact that the media share is owned by an American company. “The previous interpretation of the law suggests that foreign co-owners of media outlets can have up to 20%; an American company has 19.92% in Ekho Moskvy. This letter indicates a new interpretation of the law. And in general, according to it, a foreign company cannot be a co-owner of media in the Russian Federation,” said the editor-in-chief of the radio station.

Representative of the supervisory agency Vadim Ampelonsky, commenting on the situation with RNS, said that he was confident that the violation on the part of the radio station would soon be eliminated. “Roskomnadzor sent a warning letter to the radio station that certain technical actions must be taken by February 15. We have no doubt that everything will be done within the specified time frame. The head of the industry department of Roskomnadzor is in daily contact with the general director and editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy, and we have no doubt that everything will be done,” the agency quotes Ampelonsky.

He also explained to Mediazona that the department has no complaints about the fact that there is a foreign company among the founders, and its removal from the list of owners is not required. The letter is connected only with the need to bring the documentation of Echo of Moscow in accordance with the law on mass media.

Earlier, Life reported a letter from Roskomnadzor, in which it reported a violation of the Law “On Mass Media” in terms of the ownership structure of a legal entity. According to department officials, the radio station violated Article 19.1 of the Law “On the Mass Media.” “An examination of document materials showed that one of the shareholders of Ekho Moskvy CJSC has a foreign share of capital of 19.92%, which contradicts the requirements established by media law,” Life quotes the letter.

The agency refers to the first paragraph of the article, which states that a foreign company or foreigner “has no right to act as a founder of a media outlet.” Roskomnadzor in a letter gave until February 15 to eliminate violations.