Robbins LLP: VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP) Misled Shareholders According to a Recently Filed Class Action
Robbins LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that officers and directors of VimpelCom Ltd. (NASDAQGS: VIP) violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between June 30, 2011 and November 2, 2015, by making materially false and misleading statements about VimpelCom's business prospects. VimpelCom provides telecommunications services in Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Algeria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
VimpelCom Accused of Engaging in Corrupt Practices
According to the complaint, VimpelCom failed to disclose that it paid tens of millions of dollars in unlawful bribes to a company controlled by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the president of Uzbekistan, in order to secure VimpelCom's access to Uzbekistan's telecommunications market.
On March 12, 2014, VimpelCom announced that it was facing investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Dutch authorities about its operations in Uzbekistan. On March 18, 2014, the company reported that its operations in Uzbekistan were also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. Then, on August 13, 2015, U.S. authorities asked their European counterparts to seize approximately $1 billion in assets in a criminal probe of alleged corruption by VimpelCom, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC, and TeliaSonera AB, for paying hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses controlled by Karimova to secure wireless spectrum in Uzbekistan. On November 3, 2015, when VimpelCom announced that it had set aside $900 million for litigation costs in connection with the U.S. and Dutch investigations, its ADRs fell $0.17, or 4.63%, to close at $3.50 on November 3, 2015.
VimpelCom Shareholders Have Legal Options
Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, or you can complete the form below and we will contact you directly.