Russia's competition watchdog is preparing to file a lawsuit against Norway's Telenor , saying it breached a law on foreign investments while increasing its stake in Russia's No.3 mobile phone operator Vimpelcom, Interfax reported.
Telenor has been increasing its voting stake in Vimpelcom since mid-February, and now has the right to 39.5 per cent of votes.
The Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed representative of FAS, the watchdog, as saying the regulator believes Telenor violated the law on foreign investments in 'strategically important' Russian companies. It gave no further details.
Telenor most recently increased its voting stake in Vimpelcom to 39.51 per cent from 36.36 percent as a result of a $715-million deal with JP Morgan Securities.
The purchase followed a February deal with Vimpelcom co-owner Naguib Sawiris which saw Telenor wrestle back partial control of Vimpelcom from Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group, pushing its stake up from 25 per cent.
"Telenor received a routine request for information from FAS in March and provided FAS with the information that it requested. Telenor has not received any further communications from FAS, and has not been served with any lawsuit," said Telenor spokeswoman Anna Ivanova-Golitsina.
A spokesman for FAS could not immediately be reached for comment.
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