A Swedish court has agreed to freeze SKr1.8bn (US$280m) belonging to TeliaSonera’s partner in Uzbekistan, according to Reuters.
The court had previously frozen SKr200m (US$30m) of Takilant’s money held in accounts at Nordea bank, said a local media…
A Swedish court has agreed to freeze SKr1.8bn (US$280m) belonging to TeliaSonera’s partner in Uzbekistan, according to Reuters.
The court had previously frozen SKr200m (US$30m) of Takilant’s money held in accounts at Nordea bank, said a local media report.
The asset freeze, which is said to be the biggest in Swedish legal history, relates to allegations of bribery and corruption regarding a deal the Swedish telco made with Takilant for an Uzbek 3G licence.
As TelecomFinance previously reported, TeliaSonera has contested the allegations since they were first made. Anti-corruption investigators have subsequently launched a probe into the matter and TeliaSonera has also hired Mannheimer Swartling to conduct its own external review.
On 8 January, the telco issued a statement relating to an email exchange which suggested that Gulnara Karimova, the controversial daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, was involved in the case.
“We are still convinced that the ongoing investigations will clarify that we have not bribed anyone or participated in money laundering,” said the statement. “We have zero tolerance against corruption and we are confident that the investigations will show what has really occurred”.
TeliaSonera had not commented on today’s news by the press deadline.
