OREANDA-NEWS. “The recent developments in the ongoing investigations of VimpelCom make my role as strategic advisor to the Board in Telenor challenging. I have dedicated my career to Telenor and find the situation very unfortunate, complex and sad for the company. It is vital that Telenor’s management and Board of Directors now have room to handle the situation effectively. I hope my decision will contribute to this and wish Telenor and all its great employees all the best,” says Baksaas.

Baksaas stepped down as CEO of Telenor Group in August 2015 after 13 years. He has since then served as a strategic consultant to the Board of Directors, reporting to the Chairman of the Board.

“Although it is VimpelCom that is under investigation, and Telenor is cooperating with the investigating authorities as a witness, questions have been raised about what information the Telenor Group had about the alleged corruption in VimpelCom. The Board of Directors have initiated an external review by Deloitte law firm to get to the bottom of this and all other aspects of this case. I am pleased that the Board and Baksaas have reached a mutual agreement to terminate the consultancy agreement,” says Interim Chairman of the Board in Telenor Group, Mr. Frank Dangeard.

Baksaas keeps shares already awarded under Telenor’s long term incentive program (LTI) according to his employment contract.