SEP. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Uzbekistan ordered the authorities to seize the assets of Russian mobile operator MTS’s local subsidiary, Uzdunrobita, media reported. The Uzbek authorities accuse Uzdunrobita of tax evasion and breaking its contract. Uzdunrobita denies the charges and says the government is trying to steal its assets.
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(News report from Issue No. 104, published on Sep. 14 2012)
SEP. 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Switzerland have launched a money laundering probe into four unnamed Uzbek nationals, the eurasianet.org website reported. Eurasianet.org quoted the Swiss authorities saying that it had arrested two of the Uzbeks. Major Uzbek businesses have had well-documented links to Switzerland.
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(News report from Issue No. 104, published on Sep. 14 2012)
AUG. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian mobile operator MTS said that a row with the Uzbek authorities had knocked $1.1b off its profit in the second quarter of the year. Earlier this month a court in Uzbekistan revoked MTS’s operating licence. MTS had over 9m subscribers in Uzbekistan. It has said the move is an attempt to steal its business.
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(News report from Issue No. 103, published on Aug. 31 2012)
AUG. 15 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake met Uzbek President Islam Karimov in Tashkent to discuss ongoing plans for the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan through Uzbekistan in 2014, media reported. Uzbekistan is a controversial partner for the US because of concerns about it human rights record.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – At the Olympic Games in London, Kazakhstan wanted to beat their previous best medals haul of three golds from both Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. They did, easily, with seven gold medals in cycling, weightlifting, long jump and boxing.
Kazakhstan was placed twelfth in the rankings, with the same gold medal haul as Australia. For the others, the Games were less successful.
Turkmenistan failed to win a medal and one of its boxing referees was sent home after
failing to stop a one-sided fight. An Uzbek gymnast faced even greater humiliation after she was disqualified for doping. Uzbekistan did win one gold medal in the men’s wrestling. There were no golds for either Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, although a Tajik woman won a boxing bronze.
Azerbaijan had talked up their boxing hopes before the Games but the best it could manage was a bronze medal. They also had one coach sent home for cheating. In wrestling Azerbaijan won two golds along with another two silver and three bronze medals.
Georgia won its gold medal in judo . Neighbouring Armenia won three medals, but no gold.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 13 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Uzbekistan has cancelled all licences held by the Russian mobile operator MTS, which operates under the local brand Uzdunrobita, media reported. Uzbek officials had previously slapped temporary bans on MTS for alleged tax dodging the breaking its contract. MTS denies the allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 101, published on Aug. 17 2012)
AUG. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Uzbek subsidiary of Russian mobile operator MTS, Uzdunrobita, is facing fines of $80m for violating various regulations, the AP news agency quoted the company as saying. The Uzbek authorities suspended Uzdunrobita last month after accusing it of avoiding taxes. Uzdunrobita, which had nearly 10m subscribers, denies the charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 100, published on Aug. 10 2012)
JULY 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The fortunes of MTS, the Russian mobile operator, in Central Asia have been fluctuating wildly.
On July 26, Turkmen officials reinstated its licence, after a 19 month break. Meanwhile in neighbouring Uzbekistan, officials said they would lengthen the suspension of MTS’s mobile operator licence to 90 days (from an original 10 day suspension from July 17) while it investigates allegations of tax evasion. MTS has denied the allegations and accused Uzbekistan of trying to grab assets.
As a correspondent reports for The Conway Bulletin in the accompanying Correspondents’ Notebook, thousands of Uzbeks have queued through the heat to exchange SIM cards at MTS’s rivals.
MTS has played a patient game in Turkmenistan, where it had held an 85% market share, and got what it wanted — its licence back. Now it has to play another game in Uzbekistan.
The fallout for MTS and Uzbekistan has only just started but it’s likely to be costly for both sides. German car maker Daimler has just pulled out of a proposed joint-venture in Uzbekistan. The timing of its withdrawal could, of course, be a coincidental.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)
AUG. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s lower house of parliament passed a decree that will prevent it from either joining any military alliance in the future or hosting any foreign military bases. Media had speculated that the US may be looking to open a base on Uzbek territory after Uzbekistan withdrew from the Russia-lead CSTO military alliance earlier this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)
AUG. 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany’s Daimler has pulled out of proposed bus making joint-venture with Uzbek state company Uzavtosanoat, media reported. A Daimler spokesperson cited tough economic conditions as the reason for pulling out of the deal although the environment for foreign investors in Uzbekistan has also become increasingly difficult.
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(News report from Issue No. 099, published on Aug. 3 2012)