Russia’s Altimo has filed a claim against Norway’s Telenor for USD 1 billion in damages with an international arbitration tribunal in Geneva. This claim is for alleged breached by Telenor of a Shareholders Agreement relating to Russian mobile company VimpelCom signed by Eco and Telenor to ensure fair and effective management of the assets of VimpelCom.

In 2004-2005, Telenor persistently blocked VimpelCom’s attempts to enter the Ukrainian mobile market. In particular, Telenor’s representatives on VimpelCom’s Board of Directors tried to prevent the purchase by VimpelCom of Ukrainian telecommunication company Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS). As Altimo notes, Telenor is a majority shareholder in Kyivstar, another Ukrainian mobile phone company.

Altimo says that as a result of Telenor’s actions, the purchase was delayed by approximately one year, and the delay destroyed shareholder value and significantly affected VimpelCom’s profitability.