News
Sweden-based operator surprised by size of settlement proposed by U.S., Dutch authorities.
Telia Company on Thursday revealed it has been asked to pay US$1.4 billion (€1.25 billion) by U.S. and Dutch authorities to settle the corruption investigation into its Uzbekistan unit.
In a brief statement, the Sweden-based telco said the offer was made late on Wednesday and was light on details.
"Our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high," said Telia chairwoman Marie Ehrling. "We will now have to analyse the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities."
Telia has been under investigation since March 2014 over bribery allegations stemming from its entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. The company acquired its 3G licence there through Takilant, a Gibraltar-based company associated with Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the late Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, who died earlier this month.
Rumours of wrongdoing started doing the rounds in 2012, leading eventually to the resignation in early 2013 of then-CEO Lars Nyberg.
"I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Company’s entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility," Ehrling said on Thursday. "We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter."
With rumours of unethical conduct swirling round some of Telia’s other operations in Eurasia, the company took the decision in September 2015 to exit the region altogether.
Telia completed the sale of its Nepalese arm Ncell to Malaysia’s Axiata in April, and last week it agreed a $39 million deal to sell its 60% stake in its Tajikistan unit, Tcell, to its local partner, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).
