Turkcell files law suit against MTN in Johannesburg

MTN faces renewed legal action from Turkcell. This time in the South Gauteng High Court. Image:Show Me

Turkcell filed a US$4.2bn legal action against MTN in the US in 2011‚ accusing MTN of corruption by bribing officials‚ arranging meetings between Iranian and South African leaders and promising Iran weapons and United Nations votes in exchange for a licence to provide cellphone services in Iran.

MTN owns a 49% stake in Iran's mobile network operator‚ Irancell.

Turkcell said it was initially awarded the licence‚ which overturned and then given to MTN in 2005.

"The filing of the lawsuit in South Africa is a continuation of the legal process that was initiated in US courts‚" Turkcell said.

Turkcell withdrew its US action in May because of the change in US jurisdiction laws. It said the withdrawal was "without prejudice" at that time. It also said the company maintains its position regarding the merits of the case.

Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company in Turkey‚ with 35m subscribers. It is a leading regional company‚ with market leadership in five of the nine countries in which it operates.

Meanwhile, MTN said that it had noted reports that Turkcell had refiled its lawsuit against the company.

"At this stage‚ MTN cannot comment further as we have not received or viewed the court papers‚" it said in a statement. "Although we don't have details of the case‚ MTN continues to believe that there is no legal merit to Turkcell's claim and will accordingly oppose it‚" MTN added.