Four senior employees are to leave TeliaSonera for conducting transactions that have not been in line with sound business practice.
According to the company, this is a direct result of a still on-going thorough review by the international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, which was chosen by TeliaSonera’s Board of Directors on April 18 to examine transactions and agreements made over the past few years by the company and partners in Eurasia.
The Swedish law firm Mannheimer Swartling has also been advising the board.
According to Marie Ehrling, chairman of the board ?“The Board’s conclusion is that some senior employees no longer have the trust of the Board. Therefore they have been notified that their employment with TeliaSonera will be terminated and they will leave their position effective immediately. It is not the Board’s task to assess the legal aspects, but we have decided to hand over the material from the Norton Rose Fulbright review to the Prosecutor’s office as part of our continuous dialogue.”
“The president and CEO Johan Dennelind has already taken important measures to strengthen governance and compliance in TeliaSonera. The board will with all possible means support and facilitate this important work.”
Johan Dennelind, president and CEO, added: ?“Together with the Board I have come to the conclusion that the way some transactions in the past were managed does not live up to the high standards of business ethics and transparency that TeliaSonera wants to stand for. Based on Norton Rose Fulbright’s findings I am taking necessary actions. It is the responsibility of all our employees, including senior management, to ensure that we maintain high standards of business ethics and to implement necessary governance and compliance to uphold them. Going forward we need strong leadership on all levels to create a sound culture.”
TeliaSonera has also announced that its executive VP and CFO Per-Arne Blomquist will leave his position effective immediately.
Christian Luiga, currently head of CEO Office, will assume the position as acting CFO.
