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Johannesburg - Cellphone operator MTN Group [JSE:MTN] said on Monday that rival Turkcell was using the threat of a US lawsuit to extort money from it.
Turkcell, which unsuccessfully bid for the same licence, said in February that the cases were at international arbitration courts.
MTN has set up a panel, led by UK-based legal scholar Lord Hoffmann to investigate the charges.
A spokesman for Turkcell said the company had no comment at this stage.
MTN also said in a statement that talks with Turkcell had broken
down, saying the Turkish mobile operator had refused to cooperate with an
independent panel set up by MTN.
“Talks between MTN and Turkcell have broken down as a result of
Turkcell’s extortionate demands for damages and their threat to start a
frivolous lawsuit in the US,” MTN said in an e-mailed statement.
Turkcell confirmed in February it had launched lawsuits against
MTN, seeking compensation over the award of an Iranian cellular licence to the
Johannesburg-based company.
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator, has said Turkcell claims
that MTN won the Iranian licence in 2005 by lobbying South Africa to take a
light stance on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
MTN has said the claim lacks legal merit, while Pretoria has said
its foreign policy is independent. MTN currently makes nearly 10% of its revenue from Iran.
Turkcell, which unsuccessfully bid for the same licence, said in February that the cases were at international arbitration courts.
MTN has set up a panel, led by UK-based legal scholar Lord Hoffmann to investigate the charges.
A spokesman for Turkcell said the company had no comment at this stage.
