Russian operator MTS has been requested to cooperate with an investigation by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Uzbekistan’s telecoms sector.
The commission has asked that MTS provide documents concerning its operations in Uzbekistan, which were seized by the country’s government in 2012 following the revocation of MTS’ operating licence. MTS lost around $1 billion as a result.
While it has not confirmed whether it will indeed supply the requested information, MTS has stated that the investigation is focused on “the activities of unaffiliated parties”.
MTS’ fellow Russian operator VimpelCom and the Swedish operator TeliaSonera are both currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice for their activities in Uzbekistan.
