Grameen disputes fine for Telenor’s ‘illegal’ activities

Grameen Telecom, the local shareholder of Bangladesh’s biggest mobile operator Grameenphone, said it was not ready to pay any fine for ‘illegal’ activities committed by its majority stakeholder, Norway-based Telenor.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) fined Grameenphone BTK4,184,000,000 (US$61 million) in two separate cases for its involvement in illegal international call termination business using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

It is expected that Grameen Telecom will have to pay 38 per cent of the fee, while Telenor, will pay the remainder reflecting its 62 per cent stake in Grameenphone.

“Grameenphone is run by the Telenor management. So Telenor is to blame for any illegal activity. Why should we pay for their repeated illegal activities in Bangladesh?” a Grameen Telecom official told reporters.

Telenor said in a statement on Friday that it agreed with chairman of Grameen Telecom, Muhammad Yunus, that the circumstances surrounding the VoIP issue needed further investigations, especially to uncover the persons responsible.