TeliaSonera CEO to invest personal fortune into MegaFon

Lars Nyberg, the president and CEO at Swedish operator group TeliaSonera, has  announced that he will be investing $2m of his own money in the initial public offering of shares in Russian operator MegaFon. Nyberg, who is a member of the board of directors of MegaFon, will purchase theshares at the offer price.

“I have a strong belief in the future prospects of MegaFon. As a member of the MegaFon board, making a sizeable investment in the company is a way for me to show my commitment,” he said.

Nyberg was given a vote of confidence from the firm’s board in October this year amid allegations of corruption and bribery. The Committee on Industry and Trade of the Swedish Parliament is currently investigating TeliaSonera’s purchase of a telecom license in Uzbekistan from Gibraltar-based company Takilant. The firm served as the operator’s local partner when the Nordic telecom firm established operations in 2007, but is alleged to have close ties with the daughter of Uzbekistan’s dictator Islam Karimov.

“I am completely convinced there are no grounds to the corruption allegations directed at the company and we cooperate fully with the authorities regarding the ongoing investigation,” Nyberg said that the time.

Meanwhile, TeliaSonera is in the process of slashing approximately 2,000 jobs, representing seven per cent of its total workforce. The announcement was made as the firm announced its earnings from the quarter ending September 2012, in which it saw net sales decrease year-on-year by 3.2 per cent to SEK 25.8bn ($3.9bn).