Form 6-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


FORM 6-K

 


Report of Foreign Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of July 2006

Commission File Number 1-14522

 


Open Joint Stock Company

“Vimpel-Communications”

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

 


10 Ulitsa 8-Marta, Building 14, Moscow, Russian Federation 127083

(Address of principal executive offices)

 


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.    Form 20-F  x    Form 40-F  ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):             .

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):             .

Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.    Yes  ¨    No  x

If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-            .

 


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

  OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY
 

“VIMPEL-COMMUNICATIONS”

  (Registrant)
Date: July 27, 2006   By:  

/s/ Alexander V. Izosimov

  Name:   Alexander V. Izosimov
  Title:   Chief Executive Officer and General Director


LOGO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS VIMPELCOM’S ACQUISITION OF UKRAINIAN RADIO SYSTEMS

Moscow and New York (July 27, 2006) — Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP) today announced that the Court of Appeals affirmed the May 15, 2006 ruling by the Moscow Arbitration Court in favor of VimpelCom in one of the lawsuits filed by Telenor East Invest AS. VimpelCom is pleased with the ruling, which once again upholds the validity of the September 2005 shareholder vote that approved VimpelCom’s acquisition of CJSC “Ukrainian Radio Systems” (“URS”) as an interested party transaction.

Today’s court ruling is subject to further appeal.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements relate to the possible appeal of the court decision described above. There can be no assurance that Telenor will not appeal this decision and, if it does, that the decision will not be overturned on appeal. There can be no assurance that an adverse decision of the appeal court will not adversely impact the outcome to VimpelCom in the two additional pending lawsuits brought by Telenor against the Company challenging the URS acquisition. In addition, there can be no assurances that additional claims will not be made by Telenor or other third parties regarding the Company’s acquisition of URS or other matters. In the event a decision unfavorable to the Company becomes binding in any pending or future court cases, including a decision for monetary damages and/or to unwind the URS acquisition, it could have an adverse effect on the Company, its business, its expansion strategy and its financial results. Certain additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statements include the risks described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005 and other public filings made by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. The Company disclaims any obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.

For more information, please contact:

 

Valery Goldin    Peter Schmidt/Michael Polyviou
VimpelCom (Moscow)    Financial Dynamics
Tel: 7(495) 974-5888    Tel: 1(212) 850 5600
Investor_Relations@vimpelcom.com    mpolyviou@fd-us.com