Senior US law enforcement officials have objected to AOL's pending sale of instant-messaging service ICQ to a Russian investment firm. Investigators at federal agencies charged with scrutinising cybercrime are concerned about the USD 187.5 million acquisition of ICQ by Moscow-based Digital Sky Technologies, the Financial Times writes. ICQ is the leading instant messaging service in Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic and, according to law enforcement investigators, is one of the main avenues of communication for criminal groups in eastern Europe, some of whom never meet in person. ICQ's headquarters remained in Israel after AOL acquired it for USD 400 million in 1998. The current fear is that ICQ's computers might move to Russia, where co-operation with western law enforcement is far more difficult to obtain. "Every bad guy known to man [is on] ICQ," one investigator said in an interview. The objections have reached the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a secretive panel known as CFIUS and led by the US Treasury. The committee can recommend that transactions be blocked or modified on the grounds of national security. The panel also has representatives from the departments of defence, justice and homeland security. "We've raised the concerns," another law enforcement official told the FT. CFIUS insiders said they did not expect the panel to stop the sale. It has 30 days after the companies formally notify CFIUS of the transaction to warn them that it plans to investigate further. More than 30 days have passed since the transaction's announcement on 28 April without any such warning being issued, said Alexander Tamas, a Digital Sky partner in London.
