Moscow, Russian Federation – Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” – NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS, announces that the Judicial Department of Tashkent, in accordance with a decree of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan, has initiated enforcement proceedings to arrest all of the assets of Uzdunrobita FE LLC (“Uzdunrobita” or “MTS-Uzbekistan”), MTS’s wholly owned subsidiary in Uzbekistan.

In violation of the Uzbek law, the seizure of the assets of Uzdunrobita is being enforced in connection with the criminal charges and claims against four employees of Uzdunrobita. Uzdunrobita has not been called in as a party to the process and has been deprived of its legitimate rights to represent its interests during the proceedings which have been orchestrated as a prelude to seizure of its assets.

On August 27, 2012, the Tashkent Criminal Court has initiated a criminal trial against four previously detained employees of Uzdunrobita: Temirmalik Alimov, First Deputy General Director for Finance; Azizillo Mirzamoidinov, Director for Corporate Development; Alisher Muhamedov, Director for Security; and Aziz Rahimov, Deputy General Director for IT. Only limited information on the substance of charges has been provided to the MTS employees and their attorneys. They also have not been provided with full materials of the case. Throughout the pre-trial period, the detained employees were denied minimum procedural guarantees and basic rights in violation of the Uzbek law and international human rights conventions. Some interrogations of the employees have been conducted without counsel. According to the information available to the Company, portions of the employees’ testimonies were obtained under pressure from the prosecution.

Motions filed by Uzdunrobita to be called in as a defendant in the criminal trial of its employees have been inexplicably rejected. In the Company’s opinion, in this context, the decision to arrest Uzdunrobita’s assets clearly testifies to the intentions of the Uzbek authorities to illegally expropriate MTS’s assets in the shortest possible timeframe.

On August 27, 2012, the appeals court of the Tashkent Commercial Court denied Uzdubrobita’s appeal to challenge the court decision from August 13, 2012, granting petition of the State Agency for Communications and Information to withdraw all operating licenses of UIzdunrobita. Uzdunrobita’s appeals to challenge the decisions of the regional antimonopoly departments declaring that MTS had infringed upon the antimonopoly laws, consumer protection laws and laws governing advertisements have not yet been considered. At the same time, lawsuits brought by these government bodies to claim from Uzdunrobita damage and penalties in the total amount of $12 million have been upheld by Uzbek courts.

MTS states that all of the charges brought against the Company and its employees are groundless. Pre-trial investigation and legal proceedings have been and continue to be conducted in egregious violation of internationally recognized legal norms and human rights. MTS reserves the right to initiate proceedings both in Uzbekistan and internationally, including proceedings against certain officials involved in illegal actions against the Company, to claim damages incurred by its subsidiary in Uzbekistan.