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Telenor admits 'insufficient' handling of VimpelCom case
2016-04-29 08:54:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Telenor is letting its CFO and general counsel go following a report showing the company failed to respond quickly to indications of corruption at its affiliate Vimpelcom. Telenor's board hired Deloitte Advokatfirma in November 2015 to investigate its handling of the allegations. The report found that Telenor's handling of the VimpelCom ownership was "insufficient". In 2011 already an employee seconded to VimpelCom raised concerns of potential corruption to executives in Telenor and to Telenor's nominated board members at VimpelCom. This concern, however, was not shared with Telenor's then CEO, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, until March 2014 and then to the Telenor board of directors in December 2014. The Norwegian state, Telenor's main shareholder, was not told until October 2015. Following the report, Telenor reached an agreement for CFO Richard Olav Aa and General Councel Pal Wien Espen to resign. CEO Sigve Brekke said the company "acknowledges that on this occasion we were unsuccessful in handling an important concern according to Telenor's ethical standards" and the group has initiated several measures to improve governance, compliance and transparency.
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Category:Telecommunications