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Bitel case to be heard in the Isle of Man

A dispute over the ownership of Kyrgyzstan’s largest mobile phone operator will be heard in Manx courts after all.

Russia's Mobile TeleSystems is locked in a court battle with a group of Island-based companies over who actually owns Bitel.

A court in Kyrgyzstan handed over Bitel to Altimo Holdings, but MTS claims the judgements were unlawful.

It asked the Manx courts to resolve the issue, but the courts here said they didn't have the jurisdiction to hear the case.

MTS has successfully appealed that decision, and the Isle of Man courts will now decide who Bitel should actually belong to.

(Picture: Douglas Courthouse, on the right, and General Registry).

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