U.S. goes after $300 million in alleged bribes paid by Russian telecom giants

The U.S. has filed to seize $300 million that it claims was paid in bribes by two major Russian telecoms firms to a close relative of Uzbek President Islam Karimov in exchange for access to the Uzbek telecoms market, news agency Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The complaint filed by the U.S. Justice Department in a Manhattan federal court on Monday claims that leading Russian mobile phone operator MTS and fellow telecoms major VimpelCom — owned in part by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman — bribed a relative of Karimov’s, the report said.