MTN out of line, says Turkcell
Turkcell nightmare haunts MTN
In a $4.2bn civil suit, the Turkish firm alleges MTN paid bribes and other inducements to secure Irancell contract
A year after MTN Group settled its huge fine for licensing infringements in Nigeria, it has to deal with a renewed claim from Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell. In the first week of May, Turkcell filed a damages claim against the African firm in the South Gauteng high court for offences it says cost the Turkish company a licence it had won in 2004 to operate Iran’s first cellphone company. The suit came just three weeks shy of the first anniversary of MTN’s settlement with Nigeria, according to which the company agreed to pay a US$1.67bn fine to the Nigerian government. In between, a smaller $8.5m fine from Rwanda sneaked in, while more damning allegations about the group’s conduct have been peddled on the floor of the Nigerian senate. Some members of Nigeria’s parliament have threatened to investigate and fine MTN for what they say is the illegal repatriation of profits from that country, a claim MTN denies. But it is the Turkcell lawsuit that may be the most damaging yet. At ...
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