The departure comes as Swedish authorities investigate whether VimpelCom paid bribes in Uzbekistan.
The company said in a statement that it views corruption allegations and speculations as serious and will take measure to uphold its interest.
Telenor holds a minority stake of 33% in VimpelCom and voting rights of 43%. Baksaas has served on its supervisory board since 2010, and in October told reporters that Telenor is looking at options to sell its stake in VimpelCom but the timing was not right.
“I am stepping down from the VimpelCom board to solely focus on protecting Telenor’s position. Telenor has zero tolerance for corruption. As an owner in VimpelCom we will assist the ongoing investigations,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and CEO of Telenor Group.
