Turkcell wins Supreme Court ruling allowing $4.2 billion claim against MTN Group

Turkish cell phone group Turkcell on Tuesday won a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgement that will allow its $4.2 billion (about R78bn) claim against MTN Group to be heard in a South African court.

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S (Turkcell) and its owned subsidiary, East Asian Consortium (EAC), previously instituted legal action in the High Court of South Africa against MTN and certain of its subsidiaries in 2013, in which action Turkcell and EAC made allegations of impropriety in the award of the first private mobile telecommunications license in Iran.

MTN’s board appointed an independent special committee in 2012 to investigate the allegations and it exonerated MTN. The South Africa-based telecoms group, which operates in 16 pan-African markets, said Wednesday it would appeal the SCA decision.

It said the judgement, handed down on April 29, 2025, had upheld “aspects” of the appeal lodged by Turkcell. The appeal was lodged against a High Court judgement, in which the High Court had dismissed Turkcell's case against MTN, on the basis that the South African courts did not have jurisdiction.

“The SCA has set aside the judgement and decided that the South African courts do have jurisdiction. The SCA, however, upheld the High Court ruling that Iranian law is applicable to key aspects of the dispute,” MTN said in a statement.

It said the decision to uphold the appeal did 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.

An online search by BR showed that Turkcell’s allegations against MTN included that MTN, in securing the Iran contract in 2005, bribed officials, arranged meetings between the two countries’ leaders and promised votes in the United Nations.

Business Report