East Asian Consortium B.V. (EAC), Turkcell’s wholly owned subsidiary, filed an opposition to MTN‘s application to the Constitutional Court for leave to review the recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) verdict on June 4, 2025.
The SCA’s decision supports South African courts’ competence to examine EAC’s claims that MTN engaged in bribery and corruption in connection with its business in Iran. The SCA decision is also an important victory for the idea that South African firms should be held accountable in South Africa for their actions abroad.
Stemming from allegations that MTN paid bribes to Iranian and South African officials to overturn a public tender initially awarded to Turkcell for a multibillion-dollar GSM telecom license in Iran. This is the latest legal step in Turkcell’s ongoing pursuit of justice for damages estimated to be more than US$4.2 billion.
Among other things, this case has significant implications for South Africa’s stance on international bribery and corruption.
In April 2025, the SCA handed down a comprehensive judgment rejecting all of the jurisdictional objections raised by MTN, its former executives Phuthuma Nhleko and Irene Charnley, and several MTN subsidiaries. The SCA affirmed that South African courts do have jurisdiction over the matter, clearing the path for the case to proceed to trial.
“MTN’s request to seek leave to appeal the SCA’s judgment at the Constitutional Court is yet another attempt to delay accountability and avoid a trial where the full truth will come to light,” said Cedric Soule, counsel for Turkcell. “The Supreme Court of Appeal made it clear: South African courts are the appropriate venue for these serious allegations to be tested. It’s time for MTN and its former executives to face the evidence in a South African courtroom before an impartial South African judge.”
Soule criticized MTN for repeatedly relying on the Hoffmann Report, an internal investigation commissioned by the board, as supposedly exonerating it, stating that the process lacked independence, rigor, and transparency, as the Hoffmann Committee failed to interview key witnesses, gather evidence, and use independent counsel, making its conclusions unreliable and irrelevant to the current proceedings.
Turkcell’s South African legal team, Vasco de Oliveira Incorporated as instructing attorneys, with counsel Alistair Franklin SC and J.J. Meiring, strongly opposed MTN’s application for leave, rejecting MTN’s argument that the courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran would provide a fair alternative venue for EAC to litigate its claims against MTN.
That a South African company alleged to have acted in concert with Iranian officials to improperly obtain a tender would now propose that the courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran constitute an appropriate forum for the adjudication of this dispute, despite well-documented concerns regarding judicial independence and due process, is difficult to accept.
“After more than twelve years of procedural stalling, Turkcell remains committed to presenting the full evidence in court. This case is about holding South African companies accountable for their actions abroad, especially when those actions involve serious allegations of bribery and corruption,” said Soule.
The Constitutional Court will now decide whether to grant the request for leave to appeal filed by MTN and the other defendants. Turkcell expects a decision within three months.
