The reinstatement of SA's ambassador to Iran - amid an investigation into claims of bribery involving MTN - is temporary, says the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).
DIRCO confirmed in a statement yesterday that suspended ambassador Yusuf Saloojee had returned to his post in Muscat (Oman), despite an investigation being under way, but said this was "temporary, pending the finalisation and outcomes of the investigation".
According to the foreign ministry, details of the investigation - now in its fourth month - could not be disclosed, lest disclosure compromise employer-employee privilege.
"The department recalled Ambassador Saloojee and put him on a three-month suspension beginning 1 July to allow for an internal investigation into allegations made against him by a former employee of a South African mobile phone company operating in the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Earlier this year, Saloojee was accused of accepting $200 000 from cellphone operator MTN in exchange for assisting the company in its acquisition of a GSM licence, in Iran, in 2005. The claim forms part of a bigger lawsuit and financial claim of $4.2 billion, filed by rival operator Istanbul-based Turkcell.
DIRCO says it views the allegations against Saloojee in a "serious light - hence the investigation".
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