Three board members at Norway’s Telenor, including deputy chairman Frank Dangeard (pictured), will step down this week, amid criticism of the company’s handling of alleged corruption by affiliate VimpelCom in Uzbekistan.

Telenor, which owns a 33 per cent stake in under fire VimpelCom, said in a statement Dangeard, along with Marit Vaagen and Burckhard Bermann, have asked to be relieved of their duties, ahead of a corporate assembly meeting on Wednesday, where it appoints board members.

Ex-eBay executive Jacob Aqraou and Siri Beate Hatlen, who has a background in the private and public sector in Norway, have been nominated as new members of the board, and the company said it is considering nominating a third candidate.

The latest upheaval in the company’s top management follows the departures of chief financial officer Richard Olav Aa and general counsel Pal Wien Espen last month, after a Deloitte report uncovered “internal weaknesses” in Telenor’s handling of the VimpelCom case.

Svein Aaser, ex-chairman, also left the Norwegian firm in October.

Deloitte, which was appointed in November to look into the case, did however note last month that no Telenor employee was involved in corruption actions.

VimpelCom said in February it has reached a settlement over the issue in Uzbekistan.