Gainey McKenna & Egleston Announces a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP) Expanding the Class Period

NEW YORK, Dec. 04, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of its client in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased the securities of VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:VIP) between December 2, 2010 and November 2, 2015 (the “Class Period”), alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the “Complaint”).

The Complaint alleges that Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company had paid tens of millions of dollars to a company controlled by Gulnara Karimova (“Karimova”), daughter of the president of Uzbekistan; (ii) the payments to Karimova were unlawful bribes intended to secure the Company’s access to Uzbekistan’s telecommunications market; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. 

On March 12, 2014, the Company announced that it was facing investigations by both the SEC and Dutch authorities related to its operations in Uzbekistan.  Then, on March 18, 2014, the Company reported that it was the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice related to its operations in Uzbekistan.  Thereafter, on August 13, 2015, it was reported that U.S. authorities had asked their European counterparts to seize roughly $1 billion in assets in a wide-ranging criminal probe of alleged corruption by the Company and two other companies, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS”) and TeliaSonera AB (“TeliaSonera”), for paying hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses controlled by Karimova to secure wireless spectrum in Uzbekistan.

On November 3, 2015, the Company announced that it had set aside $900 million for litigation costs in connection with U.S. and Dutch investigations into the Company’s operations in Uzbekistan.  On this news, the Company’s ADRs fell $0.17, or 4.63%, to close at $3.50 on November 3, 2015.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 4, 2016.  A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.  If you wish to join the litigation, or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Thomas J. McKenna, Esq. or Gregory M. Egleston, Esq. of Gainey McKenna & Egleston at (212) 983-1300, or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected].

Please visit our website at http://www.gme-law.com for more information about the firm.