GP sponsorships breach rules: Telenor

Telenor Group has found some irregularities by Grameenphone (GP) in sponsorship agreement regarding sports tournaments, refurbishment of canteen and financial support for a phone book for the police.

Telenor found the breach of agreement by GP in its internal audit, which also held Dtac of Thailand responsible for site leasing and potential financial crimes by a mobile operator in an unspecified country, according to Telenor, the parent organsiation of GP.
Telenor disclosed the findings it obtained after responding to questions from the media in recent days regarding cases uncovered by the Group Internal Audit that are currently being handled internally or under investigation by foreign governments.
Telenor in reference to Bangladesh said the Group Internal Audit in May 2016 found that eleven of 250 sponsorship agreements by Grameenphone broke with internal guidelines. These included sports tournaments, security police’s jubilee celebrations, refurbishment of their canteen and financial support for a phone book publication for the police.
Telenor said corrective and preventive measures have now been initiated, but unacceptable sponsorships uncovered in 2013 should have been followed up more closely. The most serious breach then was the sponsorship of a sports tournament related to the Bangladeshi military. Grameenphone then established a committee to approve all sponsorships, but still the 2016 audit uncovered new breaches.
All agreements in Bangladesh in breach of the sponsorship policy have been terminated, said Telenor. External legal advisors have completed two independent legal reviews of case. No payment to individuals have been detected. Telenor’s board of directors has previously considered CEO Sigve Brekke’s involvement in the case and regards the matter closed. Brekke was chair of the Grameenphone board of directors in 2013.
Asked GP in writing said: “Grameenphone gets hundreds of sponsorship requests every year, and to manage these there is a due process. An internal audit uncovered certain deviations to that approval process, which has been addressed with relevant internal functions at local and Group level. We are confident that the measures taken as a result of these findings will strengthen our internal processes while ensuring adherence to Grameenphone’s policies.”
Telenor said Dtac has changed the way it signs mobile base station site lease contracts in Thailand, after an internal audit had discovered deviations. 
A PwC review commissioned earlier this year found that some partners could not provide sufficient proof that they owned the land where the base stations were located. The rental agreements were in line with common industrial practice in Thailand, but not with Telenor’s internal guidelines.

Dtac has now changed its rental agreement routines and begun a process to ensure that ownership is clearly documented in all rental agreements. This work will be concluded in 2017.
Finally the Telenor said the Group Internal Audit had uncovered matters related to suspicions of financial crimes, and that it had reported them to the relevant police in one of its markets, but it did not specify which country it meant. 
It said it has been asked by the authorities in that country not to comment any further on the case at this point.

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GP sponsorships breach rules: Telenor

Telenor Group has found some irregularities by Grameenphone (GP) in sponsorship agreement regarding sports tournaments, refurbishment of canteen and financial support for a phone book for the police. Telenor found the breach of agreement by GP in its internal audit, which also held Dtac of Thailand responsible for site leasing and potential financial crimes by a mobile operator in an unspecified country, according to Telenor, the parent organsiation of GP. Telenor disclosed the findings it obtained after responding to questions from the media in recent days regarding cases uncovered by the Group Internal Audit that are currently being handled internally or under investigation by foreign governments. Telenor in reference to Bangladesh said the Group Internal Audit in May 2016 found that eleven of 250 sponsorship agreements by Grameenphone broke with internal guidelines. These included sports tournaments, security polices jubilee celebrations, refurbishment of their canteen and financial support for a phone book publication for the police. Telenor said corrective and preventive measures have now been initiated, but unacceptable sponsorships uncovered in 2013 should have been followed up more closely. The most serious breach then was the sponsorship of a sports tournament related to the Bangladeshi military. Grameenphone then established a committee to approve all sponsorships, but still the 2016 audit uncovered new breaches. All agreements in Bangladesh in breach of the sponsorship policy have been terminated, said Telenor. External legal advisors have completed two independent legal reviews of case. No payment to individuals have been detected. Telenors board of directors has previously considered CEO Sigve Brekkes involvement in the case and regards the matter closed. Brekke was chair of the Grameenphone board of directors in 2013. Asked GP in writing said: Grameenphone gets hundreds of sponsorship requests every year, and to manage these there is a due process. An internal audit uncovered certain deviations to that approval process, which has been addressed with relevant internal functions at local and Group level. We are confident that the measures taken as a result of these findings will strengthen our internal processes while ensuring adherence to Grameenphones policies. Telenor said Dtac has changed the way it signs mobile base station site lease contracts in Thailand, after an internal audit had discovered deviations. A PwC review commissioned earlier thisyear found that some partners couldnot provide sufficient proof that theyowned the land where the base stationswere located. The rental agreements were in line with common industrial practice in Thailand, but not with Telenors internal guidelines. Dtac has now changed its rental agreement routines and begun a process to ensure that ownership is clearly documented in all rental agreements. This work will be concluded in 2017. Finally the Telenor said the Group Internal Audit had uncovered matters related tosuspicions of financial crimes, and that it had reported them to the relevant police in one of its markets, but it did not specify which country it meant. It said it has been asked by the authorities in that country not to comment any further on the case at this point. Related News: Grameenphone reluctant to provide MNP services to subscribers(12-06-2015) GPs illegal business(18-06-2015) DRU accuses GP of cheating(23-06-2015) GP ghost bills(28-06-2015) GP seeks until Tuesday to fix problem(05-07-2015) NBR seeks bank statements of Grammeenphone(04-08-2015) VIPs SIM cards cloned(17-09-2015) Telcos ride on fake ID cards(20-09-2015) BTRC to start auditing GP on October 20(07-10-2015) Ministers vent spleen on GP service(15-10-2015) GP under renewed fire from telecoms minister(20-10-2015) GP under ACC probe(27-11-2015) GP deprives railways of Tk 81cr a year: CAG(05-01-2016) BTRC orders GP not to hinder audit process(11-02-2016) BTRC seeks explanation from GP, ADN, Agni(04-04-2016) GP clarification(05-04-2016) Five GP staff among 11 arrested over SIM cloning(20-04-2016) GP, ADN, Agni submit explanation(20-04-2016) GP denies, CID remains firm(21-04-2016) BTRC seeks explanation from GP, ADN, Agni again(30-04-2016) Grameenphone Go Broadband illegal(31-05-16) GP, Airtel to be fine(10-06-16) BTRC cancels GP-Sonali deal(24-06-16) BTRC issues show cause notice on GP(14-07-16) BTRC brings allegation against audit firm (28-07-16) BTRC fines GP TK 30cr (31-10-16)