Turkcell welcomes Supreme Court of Appeal ruling
Turkish telecommunications group Turkcell has welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision that its $4.2-billion case against South African telecommunications group MTN can be tried in South Africa and that South African courts have jurisdiction over such matters.
The company said in a statement that the latest court decision is part of an ongoing saga between Turkcell, through its affiliate East Asian Consortium (EAC), and MTN regarding the award of a GSM licence to Turkcell in Iran.
In 2013, Turkcell accused MTN of paying off both Iranian and South African officials to overturn a public tender, which it lost to MTN.
“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 that it believes shows that MTN committed acts of bribery and corruption to overturn the award of an Iranian GSM licence to Turkcell,” said Turkcell global counsel Cedric Soule.
In 2022, the High Court had dismissed the case on the basis that the South African courts did not have jurisdiction, following which Turkcell lodged an appeal against the judgment.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in April 2025 set aside the judgment and decided that the South African courts did have jurisdiction.
Last week, MTN Group said it planned to appeal the decision, stating that the decision to uphold the appeal does not relate to the merits of Turkcell’s claims or the allegations made against MTN Group, which have not yet been tested in court.
“MTN has always maintained that the Turkcell litigation was without merit and has expressed confidence that it would successfully defend these proceedings,” the group said.
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