OREANDA-NEWS. Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS" - NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has received notification of the acquisition of 186,790 ordinary shares of MTS from Mr. Andrei Dubovskov, President and CEO of MTS.

The acquisition of shares was made through a series of transactions on December 16, 2014, at prices ranging from RUB 169.20 to 179.85. As a matter of record, persons deemed insiders by the Company are restricted to transactions involving the Company's securities during pre-determined 'open periods' as defined by internal company policies. Following the publication of Q3 2014 financial and operating results on November 25, 2014, Mr. Dubovskov and other insiders were informed of the duration of the next open period, which began on November 28 and closed on December 17, 2014.

Furthermore, on December 17, 2014, Mr. Dubovskov acquired an economic interest in 100,000 MTS American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") by entering into contracts for difference, or CFD, arrangement with a counterparty. The value of the ADSs at the time of the acquisition was USD 655,770.25. As a result of this transaction, Mr. Dubovskov effectively acquired all rights and obligations with respect to owning the ADSs, except that he did not acquire the voting rights, as those remain with his counterparty.

Mr. Dubovskov now directly owns 202,410 MTS shares and has an economic interest in a further 100,000 ADSs by virtue of the CFD transaction.

Upon the acquisition of ordinary shares, Mr. Dubovskov increased his voting rights from 0.00076% to 0.0098% in the Company.