Dogged Turkcell still ringing MTN’s number

Turkish telecoms company Turkcell remains doggedly determined to have its day in a South African court.

The legal battle between Turkcell and local cellular sevices giant MTN — over a GSM licence award in Iran — has been running for a dozen years. Legal fees are mounting. No-one would begrudge Turkcell for walking away and focusing on endeavours offering quicker payback potential. But it has pressed on.

MTN really doesn’t need these drawn-out legalities, so the group would not have been impressed with the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling last week that Turkcell’s case can be heard in South Africa.

MTN, understandably, will take the matter on appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The allegations are ugly: the paying off of Iranian and South African officials to overturn a public tender for a multibillion- dollar Iranian GSM telecom licence.

Turkcell also alleged that 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.

MTN has argued the Turkcell litigation is without merit.

It’s worth recalling that when Turkcell’s allegations first surfaced MTN appointed an independent special committee under international jurist Lord Leonard Hoffmann. He suggested Turkcell’s allegations were based mostly on a single source and were “a fabric of lies, distortions and inventions” from “a fantasist and conspiracy theorist”.

Besides dismissing a claim of conspiracy between MTN and Iranian officials to remove Turkcell from the Iranian licence process, Hoffmann also scotched claims that promises were made for the SA government to supply defence equipment to Iran or to support Iran’s nuclear policy. The sooner this gets aired and cleared in court, the better.