Russia’s VimpelCom owner says not defendant in Uzbek probe

MOSCOW, Aug 14 (PRIME) -- Amsterdam-based VimpelCom Ltd., the sole owner of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, is not a defendant in an asset freeze case on charges of corruption in Uzbekistan, and the company is cooperating with the authorities, VimpelCom Ltd.’s spokesman Artyom Minayev said Friday.

“We know about the U.S.’ request for money, some of which is linked to company Takilant. VimpelCom Ltd. is not a defendant on the request, and it does not involve assets that VimpelCom Ltd. currently owns,” Minayev said.

Mass media reported earlier that Takilant is a Gibraltar-based company allegedly linked to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

The U.S. authorities addressed five European countries with a request to block U.S.$1 billion worth of assets within the investigation of a case, involving VimpelCom Ltd., Russian mobile operator MTS and Sweden’s TeliaSonera.

“As we’ve reported in the documents filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, VimpelCom Ltd. earlier worked with Takilant within its business in Uzbekistan. We continue cooperating with the authorities in the probe. As the investigation is well under way, it’s all we can disclose,” Minayev said.

MTS declined to comment.

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a New York court to block U.S. $300 million within a probe into bribery on the telecommunications market of Uzbekistan involving VimpelCom and MTS. The operators were reported to have created firms and concluded sham contracts to render consulting services, under which they paid bribes to people close to Karimov in exchange for access to the local telecom market.

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