By Sven Grundberg
STOCKHOLM--The board of TeliaSonera AB on Tuesday said it has
found no grounds to sue the company's former chief executive Lars
Nyberg over the company's acquisition of telecom licenses in
Uzbekistan.
Mr. Nyberg was among several executives to leave the Swedish
telecommunications company in early 2013 following criticism of the
company's investment in a telecom license in Uzbekistan.
An investigative program on Swedish public television in 2012
alleged that the company had been involved in money laundering in
relation to the more than 2 billion Swedish kronor ($314.6 million)
acquisition of an Uzbekistan wireless data license, spectrum
frequencies and number series from Gibraltar-based Takilant Ltd. in
2007.
In a statement, TeliaSonera's Chairman Marie Ehrling said that
while the board doesn't rule out suing former executives for
damages at a later stage, it has found no grounds for suing Mr.
Nyberg for actions taken in 2013.
"The short period--January 2013--that we have now had to take a
stand on must therefore be considered in a larger context," Ms.
Ehrling said. " There are several ongoing investigations by
different authorities in several countries, and the company has the
option to sue for events that took place a longer time ago."
TeliaSonera's internal investigations into its Uzbek
transactions found that while it broke its own ethical guidelines
it didn't break any laws.
The former telecom monopoly in which the Swedish and Finnish
governments hold a 49% combined stake--owns 94% of Uzbekistan's
second-largest telecom operator, Ucell, and has expanded operations
in a number of countries in Eurasia.
Ana Molin contributed to this article.
Write to Sven Grundberg at sven.grundberg@wsj.com
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