Russian tycoon claims he’s behind Forbes purchase

Russian tycoon Magomed Musaev has claimed he’s the money behind the recent acquisition of Forbes, instead of tech founder Austin Russell, according to five audio recordings and one video recording obtained by The Washington Post in which he discussed the deal.

Catherine Belton, Todd C. Frankel and Elizabeth Dwoskin of The Post report, “‘I just bought global Forbes,’ Musaev told one of his associates, according to the material, referring to the Forbes Media Group, which includes the U.S. edition of the magazine. ‘You understand when you have in your hands the key to the most authoritative global brand, this key will give me access to anyone.’

“Musaev repeated the claim again and again, according to the tapes. In one of the recordings, the videotape reviewed by The Post, he called Russell ‘the face’ of the deal and insisted his own involvement be kept quiet. ‘I am doing it more subtly,’ he said, according to the recording. ‘You understand,’ he said at one point, ‘I am not working with a sledgehammer, nor with a scalpel, but with a laser.’

“Musaev’s comments raise fresh questions about potential foreign influence in a major media deal, which has been a source of controversy for more than a year, attracting criticism on Capitol Hill and scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.