Criminal investigations have been launched into global telecommunications company VimpelCom, which has African operations in Burundi, Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic.

In a statement, the company says it is under investigation by the the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Dutch authorities over its operations in central Asian country Uzbekistan.

VimpelCom has not explained why the investigations have been launched, but the company says representatives from the likes of the Dutch public prosecutor office visited its headquarters in Amsterdam.

VimpelCom says it intends to fully cooperate with authorities on the matter.

Reuters reports that Uzbekistan's tax authorities launched an investigation into Vimpelcom's mobile unit, Unitel, in 2013.

Vimpelcom has 10.5 million subscribers in Uzbekistan.

Russia's Alfa Group and Norway's Telenor are the biggest investors in VimpelCom.

VimpelCom is also one of the world's largest integrated telecommunications services operators with approximately 753 million customers worldwide people.

In Zimbabwe VimpelCom has a majority share in Telecel, while VimpelCom’s other African brands operate under the name “Leo”.