Following a lawsuit filed by Farimex, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands and holds 0.002% of VimpelCom's stock, Russia's 8th Arbitration Appeals Court in late February ordered Telenor, a core shareholder in VimpelCom, to pay $1.728 billion to the Russian operator VimpelCom.
The lawsuit accused the Norwegian telecoms operator of delaying a deal to purchase Ukrainian cell phone operator Ukrainian Radio Systems.
In 2004-2005, Telenor resisted VimpelCom's attempt to enter the Ukrainian market and buy into cell phone operator Ukrainian Radio Systems, as it put VimpelCom in direct competition with the Norwegian company's other interests in Ukraine.
Under the Russian legislation, Telenor is given five days to pay the sum voluntarily. Otherwise, Telenor's stake in VimpelCom may be sold on the stock exchange to secure the payment.
Telenor said, however, it would appeal the enforcement of the court ruling.
"We have no intention of honoring such a horrendous claim, which is based on an illegal Russian court ruling, still under appeal by us," said Jan Edvard Thygesen, head of Telenor's Central and East European operations.
Telenor's 29.9% stake in VimpelCom was seized in March by Russian bailiffs following a ruling on a lawsuit filed by Farimex.
