U.S. publisher Simon & Schuster says it will release a book examining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged ties to organized crime that was rejected by a British publisher due to fears of potential libel suits.
Simon & Schuster said in a statement that the book by U.S. academic Karen Dawisha will be published September 16 under the title “Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?”
Dawisha said in April that British publisher Cambridge University Press had planned to publish the book but rejected the manuscript earlier this year due to concerns over potential litigation in Britain.
The book, which Dawisha spent five years researching and writing, includes allegations that Putin and his associates were involved in illegal financial dealings in St. Petersburg in the 1990s.