ArmInfo.The State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of Armenia (SCPEC) terminated the administrative proceedings initiated on the basis of the application of the "VEON Armenia" and "Ucom" closed joint-stock companies dated December 30, 2019. This is stated in the message of the regulator.
The report notes that on May 6, 2020, "VEON Armenia" company applied to the Commission with a request to terminate administrative proceedings.
Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the world's leading provider of communications and Internet Veon Telecommunication Holding refused from further negotiations with the Armenian Ucom company regarding the sale of its business in Armenia (TM Beeline). The VEON Armenia company, which owns the Beeline brand, on its website officially announced negotiations with the Armenian Ucom company to sell its business in the republic. At the end of December last year, it became known that Beeline in Armenia applied to the Public Services Regulatory Commission in order to obtain permission to sell its shares to Ucom. "These discussions can either end in a sale or not. In accordance with regulatory requirements, VEON will provide updated information if any," the statement said. It is worth noting that earlier Ucom was in the center of a scandal in connection with a criminal case against majority owners in the person of the family of former super minister Gagik Khachatryan. The former official, his sons and nephew are accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale and abuse of office. In particular, Gagik Khachatryan was charged under part 2 of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (misappropriation or embezzlement of funds on an especially large scale) and part 2 of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (abuse of power, which entailed serious consequences by negligence).
To recall, VEON is one of the world's largest integrated telecom operators. The group includes telecom companies providing voice and data services based on a wide range of wireless and fixed-line technologies, as well as broadband Internet access for over 200 million subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan , Algeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan .
