On February 26, 2020, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the pending Information against Netherlands-based VimpelCom Ltd. (now known as VEON Ltd.), one of the largest global telecommunications companies in the world. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) had moved for dismissal on October 31, 2019, stating that VimpelCom had met its obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) it had entered into with the DOJ in February 2016.
In February 2016, VimpelCom and its wholly-owned Uzbek subsidiary paid over $795 million to US and Dutch authorities, including the DOJ, to resolve criminal charges and civil proceedings arising out of the payment of over $114 million in bribes to an Uzbek government official in exchange for obtaining favorable treatment from the Uzbek Agency for Communications and Information, an Uzbek governmental entity regulating communications media in Uzbekistan. VimpelCom also agreed to retain a compliance monitor for three years.
VimpelCom announced the conclusion of the monitorship on October 31, 2019.