The ongoing legal saga concerning Telenor’s shareholding in Russia’s VimpelCom has taken another twist this week following an announcement by the Russian bailiffs that they intend to start selling-off the shares. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, Russia’s Federal Bailiff Service said yesterday that they were preparing to sell 15.3 million of Telenor’s ordinary shares in VimpelCom in lieu of an earlier ruling by a Siberian (Omsk) court, which ordered Telenor to pay US$1.7 billion in damages for allegedly obstructing VimpelCom’s expansion into the Ukraine. Telenor is contesting the ruling, though bailiffs froze the Norwegian company’s 29.9 percent stake in the Russian operator as collateral against the claim. The damages claim was brought by Farimex Products, a minor VimpelCom investor alleged (by Telenor) to be acting on behalf of another investor Alfa Group, which is in negotiations with Telenor regarding their jointly-held assets in both VimpelCom and Ukrainian operator Kyivstar.

In a statement, Telenor reacted angrily to the news that the bailiffs were looking to sell its shares in VimpelCom while its appeal against the damages ruling was ongoing. “We are confident that the incorrect decision of the Omsk court will eventually be overturned. It would therefore be outrageous if the bailiff’s office should go ahead with a sale now,” said Jan Edvard Thygesen, EVP and head of Telenor’s Central and Eastern European operations. Telenor’s latest appeal to overturn the Omsk verdict will be heard tomorrow at the Federal Cassation Court of West Siberia, and the operator said it will also work via the Moscow courts to stop the bailiff’s actions.