Turkcell is readying to present evidence it believes shows MTN acted illegally when it obtained a GSM telecoms licence in Iran.
The move follows the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last week ruling that the long-running bribery dispute between local telco MTN and Istanbul-based Turkcell can be heard in South African courts.
This, after in December 2022, the High Court of South Africa dismissed the $4.2 billion (R78 billion) Turkcell lawsuit against MTN, saying the Iranian courts have jurisdiction over the case, rather than the South African courts.
Turkcell then appealed the ruling at the SCA, saying South African law should be applied and the South African courts should also have jurisdiction over the matter since MTN’s headquarters is located in SA and the alleged unlawful acts were planned in this location.
MTN has indicated it will approach the Constitutional Court to challenge the SCA ruling.
In a statement, Turkcell says: “The Supreme Court of Appeal has taken a welcome stand against bribery and corruption in the latest instalment of a courtroom clash that has raged since 2013.”
It notes that the bench agreed with Turkcell that South Africans alleged to have bribed foreign government officials can be tried in South Africa and that South African courts have jurisdiction over such matters.
The case involves allegations of bribery and corruption against MTN. Turkcell says MTN is alleged to have paid off both Iranian and South African officials to overturn a public tender, which it lost to Turkcell, for a multibillion-dollar opportunity to run an Iranian GSM telecom licence.
Turkcell alleges MTN paid off South Africa’s then ambassador to Iran, bribed high-ranking Iranian officials, and channelled a $400 000 payoff through a sham consulting contract with a Dubai-based company called Aristo Oil.
In a 2022 decision, it adds, a South African judge ruled against Turkcell affiliate EAC, holding that companies and individuals alleged to have bribed officials of a foreign government were immune from the reach of South Africa’s courts.
Cedric Soule, global counsel for Turkcell, says: “EAC is pleased with the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision. EAC now looks forward to presenting to the South African courts – for the first time – the evidence it believes shows MTN committed acts of bribery and corruption to overturn the award of an Iranian GSM licence to Turkcell.”
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