The billionaire owner of MTS has said the Russian telco could resume operations in Uzbekistan before the end of the year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Economic Forum, Vladimir Evtushenkov – who controls MTS parent Sistema – told…
The billionaire owner of MTS has said the Russian telco could resume operations in Uzbekistan before the end of the year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Economic Forum, Vladimir Evtushenkov – who controls MTS parent Sistema – told reporters that MTS may set up a new company that would be part-owned by the Uzbek government.
However, Evtushenkov was quoted saying that there was one material issue that was yet to be ironed out with the administration, which was a barrier to a tie-up.
MTS exited Uzbekistan after the government suspended subsidiary Uzdunrobita’s licence in August 2012, accusing it of evading taxes, and a number of company employees were jailed.
But MTS and the Uzbek authorities agreed to suspend a case before an international arbitration tribunal at the end of April, opening the door for the operator to return to the Central Asian republic.
In January 2013, Uzdunrobita filed for bankruptcy after local courts ordered it to pay US$600m in fines. Liquidation proceedings began in April of the same year. In December, Uzbek authorities transferred Uzdunrobita’s assets to state-owned Uzbektelecom for what an MTS spokesperson described at the time as “safekeeping”.
This year, MTS, VimpelCom and TeliaSonera have all come under investigation by international authorities for their activities in Uzbekistan. MTS revealed in March that it had received a request from the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for information “regarding investigations into the activities of unaffiliated parties” in Uzbekistan.
