AKIPRESS.COM - Norwegian police have ended a corruption investigation into the former chief executive of Vimpelcom, the company now known as Veon, saying on Wednesday he was no longer a suspect, Reuters said.

Jo Lunder, who has maintained he was innocent, was briefly held by police in 2015 as part of a probe into Vimpelcom’s business in Uzbekistan and had since been under investigation.

Following his arrest, Lunder resigned from his position as chief executive of the Fredriksen Group, a company controlling billionaire investor John Fredriksen’s holdings in shipping, oil services, fish farming and other business.

“The case has been dropped,” the police said in a statement.

Lunder now plans to sue the police for damages, his lawyer said.

Vimpelcom admitted in February 2016 to having paid more than $114 million in bribes to a high-ranking Uzbekistan official, and agreed to pay $795 million in penalties to resolve related U.S. and Dutch probes.