Amsterdam (May 31, 2012) - VimpelCom Ltd. (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP),), a leading global provider of telecommunications services, announces that in light of injunctions issued by the Moscow Arbitration Court (including the prohibition on the payment of dividends by the Company’s wholly-owned Russian subsidiary OJSC “Vimpel-Communications”) in relation to the claims by the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (“FAS”) against Telenor and Weather II:
• The Supervisory Board of the Company considers it prudent and in the best interests of VimpelCom to postpone the payment and cancel the June 1, 2012 record date of the final dividend relating to the Company’s 2011 results.  The Supervisory Board of the Company will make a decision whether to pay the final 2011 dividend at a later date and will set a new record date as appropriate.
• The Company plans to hold its annual general shareholders meeting (“AGM”) in December 2012, with the exact date to be notified by the Supervisory Board.
• The Company will continue to assess the situation as further developments occur.

Disclaimer

This release contains “forward-looking statements”, as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, relating to the FAS claim and related injunctions, the impact of the claim and injunctions on the VimpelCom Group, the timing of the Company’s AGM, and the timing and amount of future payments of dividends by VimpelCom. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s best assessment of the Company’s legal position and the Company’s understanding of current circumstances. The actual outcome may differ materially from these statements and there can be no assurance that VimpelCom will be able to hold its AGM when intended, will be able to pay all or part of the postponed dividends, succeed in any challenges with respect to the FAS claim or injunction and that the determination or postponement of determination by the court with respect to the FAS claim and injunction appeals or any challenges made by VimpelCom to the FAS claim or injunction appeals will not have a material adverse affect on VimpelCom resulting from, among other things, its continued inability to receive dividends or other distributions from OJSC VimpelCom or the suspension or termination of material licenses or permits held by OJSC VimpelCom, denial of new licenses and permits or other adverse actions by Russian regulators. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statements include the risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2011 and other public filings made by the Company with the SEC, 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 release, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.