Telia Sonera chief executive resigns after Uzbek accusations

Stockholm (dpa) - The chief executive of Nordic telecommunications group Telia Sonera resigned Friday after an external enquiry said it had not properly investigated an Uzbek partner which reportedly has close ties to the country‘s authoritarian president.

Lars Nyberg‘s announcement came shortly after the publication of the report, which while clearing the company on suspicions of involvement in bribery or money laundering, criticized Telia Sonera‘s management for its 2007 deal.

Telia Sonera paid 30 million dollars in 2007 for assets owned by a Gibraltar-based company called Takilant Ltd. The firm also got a 26 per cent stake in the Uzbek firm Ucell.

The deal gave Telia Sonera a foothold in Uzbekistan, where it has since expanded its business in the fast-growing economy. In 2010, it further increased its ownership in Ucell.

Questions were raised in September when Swedish broadcaster SVT aired a documentary suggesting that Takilant was closely associated with Gulnara Karimova, daughter of President Islam Karimov, and that Telia Sonera could have been involved in bribery and money laundering.

Swedish prosecutors are still probing the corruption allegations.

Telia Sonera‘s board on Thursday discussed the report by attorney Bjorn Riese, which also concluded that there were shortcomings in "the internal information and control at different levels (of the company)."

Nyberg, who has headed the group since 2007, noted that with pending changes in the board‘s composition he did not have the necessary backing and expressed "regret" for the failure to investigate Takilant more closely.

Outgoing board chairman Anders Narvinger on Friday said he and the board concurred, and were troubled over the shortcomings.

"This has no doubt damaged our credibility," Narvinger told a news conference. But he said the business in Uzbekistan would continue.

A new board chairman is to be appointed April 3 at the annual general meeting. Narvinger said it was likely that "a majority" of the current board members would leave.

The Swedish and Finnish governments are the main owners of the firm. It is Northern Europe‘s largest telecommunications concern and was formed in December 2002 by the merger of Sweden‘s Telia and Finland‘s Sonera. dpa lsm hl Author: Lennart Simonsson