TMCnet News
ICA Rules Against Turkcell In Case Against Africa's Biggest Mobile Operator [Ventures Africa](Ventures Africa Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VENTURES AFRICA – The International Court of Arbitration, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, this week ruled against Turkcell, the Turkish mobile operator, in a case involving Africa's biggest mobile operator, MTN and the Iranian government. "The lawsuit filed by Turkcell against the Islamic Republic of Iran has been struck down after nearly six years of effort and legal defense [by Iran],"Iranian English language media reported. Turkcell maintains it was granted Iran’s first GSM licence a decade ago, however, it was illegally prohibited from getting the permit. As an alternative, Iran signed the contract more than a year later with MTN, which Turkcell claims was its competitor during the bidding process. The telecom firm blamed MTN of shady acts, which included kickback assurances and the showering with gifts of the Iranian officials and South African state officers, to get the license. In 2008, Turkcell complained that the Iranian government had dishonoured its contractual rights. "The International court of Arbitration deals with sovereign issues, so this is not directly related to us," MTN spokesman, Chris Maroleng, told Moneyweb. "It would appear however that this is simply another effort by Turkcell to fight this battle in another jurisdiction," Maroleng added. According to Moneyweb, MTN has a 49 percent interest in Irancell, together with the Iranian government. After Nigeria, where MTN has 56.8 million subscribers, Iran is MTN's second biggest market with 41.4 million subscribers. (c) 2014 Ventures Africa. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |