MTS doubles estimate of potential losses in Turkmenistan

Russia’s top mobile phone operator MTS said it has doubled its estimated losses from a long-running dispute with Turkmenistan to $1.5 billion.

The company was forced to suspend services in the Central Asian republic in 2017 after the state telecoms provider cut it off from its network.

MTS filed a request for arbitration against Turkmenistan in July. At that time, it estimated the loss caused by the dispute at at least $750 million, Reuters reported.

It made the new estimate as it filed a statement of claim with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investments Disputes (ICSID), saying it would "vigorously pursue" its claims in arbitration unless its issues are resolved.