Last Friday the Russian Bailiff’s office said that it had passed an order to auction Telenor’s shares in Russian operator VimpleCom as collateral against damages of USD1.7 billion awarded by the Omsk court in Siberia earlier this year. The protracted and complex case has been brought against Telenor by a minority shareholder in one of its Russian business partners. It alleges the Norwegian operator delayed their launching a mobile network in Ukraine. Telenor has been given leave to appeal. The case is set to be heard on 30 September.

The operator said it has not received any other information from the Bailiff’s office apart from the post on the Bailiff’s home page, except in a separate comment made by the State Property Agency. This stated preparations for the sale will take at least two months. Telenor remains hopeful that what it views as the “incorrect decision of the Omsk court” will be overturned.