FCPA Scorecard Blog
Developments in Uzbekistan Telecommunications FCPA Investigations: Dutch Telecommunications Company Makes Provision in Connection with Investigation and DOJ Names Russian Telecommunications Company in Civil Forfeiture Action
On November 3, VimpelCom, a Dutch telecommunications company, announced that based on the company's ongoing assessment of ongoing FCPA investigations, it would make a provision in the amount of $900 million in its third quarter financial statements. The company previously disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service were conducting investigations related to VimpelCom's business in Uzbekistan and prior dealings with Takilant Ltd., a Gibralter-registered company that negotiates mobile phone licenses on behalf of the Uzbek government. On November 5, another company under investigation for its conduct in Uzbekistan, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC ("MTP"), disclosed that the DOJ had referenced it in a civil forfeiture complaint. DOJ's complaint was directed at an unnamed Uzbek government official, but the complaint alleged that MTP and certain other parties made corrupt payments to the unnamed official to gain access to the Uzbek telecommunications market.