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More trouble for TeliaSonera's business with the Uzbeck Company, Takilant as Takilant had never owned of a 3G license

Sunday, 04 November 2012
New revelations about TeliaSonera's business show how money was transferred to a Gibraltar Company, Takilant Ltd, an equivalent of over Skr2.2 billion, for which the company never had the 3G license that TeliaSonera claims to have bought.

Swedish television reports on Sunday that, a small local Uzbek company called "Teleson mobile," whose owner is not known, in autumn 2007, was in possession of the license from the Uzbek authorities, but shortly thereafter sold it to TeliaSonera.

TeliaSonera, a joint Swedish - Finnish telecom giant has been on the bad side of the press in the past months when Swedish television first reported that the company was operating in a country, which has very poor human rights. Then further investigation show that the company might have obtained a 3G licence to operate a telecom operation in the country illegally, or through fraudulent methods.

Then on the 19th of September, Swedish TV revealed that TeliaSonera paid the equivalent of more than Skr2.2 billion to Takilant Ltd., based in Gibraltar - which is also a tax haven. The transaction was carried out in a bid for TeliaSonera to become established in Uzbekistan in 2007.

The way the transaction was carried out and the involvement of the daughter of the dictator of the country meant that it was suspected that there might have been bribery and corruption involved.

As such the Swedish National Anti - Corruption Unit shortly after the revelations became public, began an investigation of aggravated bribery and corruption. It requested that Takilant's assets worth more than Skr1.5 billion in Sweden be frozen.

TeliaSonera has rejected all allegations of bribery and argued that it could not determine who actually stood behind the company, Takilant, but that Skr2.2 billion was paid because Takilant owned a 3G license which TeliaSonera needed for its operations in Uzbekistan.

TeliaSonera paid the purchase price into the account of the company, Takilant, which was the owner of the assets according to Swedish TV.

But it turns out that Takilant Ltd., with an address in Gibraltar has never been registered as the owner of a 3G license in Uzbekistan. According to sources, which have followed the affair closely, and through the Uzbek government archives new information about the circumscribed 3G license have emerged.

In autumn 2007, a few months after TeliaSonera established itself in Uzbekistan the Uzbek company name "Teleson mobile" popped up. Instead of TeliaSonera getting the licenses required for its operation directly from the authorities, the company went first to "Teleson mobile".

At this time, "Teleson Mobile" had just obtained the 3G licenses a few moths go. So it sold it to TeliaSonera.
Nevertheless, the money for the purchase was not paid in an account in Uzbekistan. Instead it was paid to a different company, Takilant. LTD in a bank account abroad.

It is not clear if this is the best way to do business in that country and certainly, it is not the way business is done in Sweden. This is why until TeliaSonera explain properly its position on the matter, it will continue to get "speculative" news reports about the matter.
By Scancomark.com Team

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