Vodacom facing $14bn suit in DRC

Vodacom, the South African unit of Vodafone, is being sued for $14bn in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Alieu Conteh, the controlling shareholder of the wireless company’s minority partner in the country, notes a report on the Moneyweb site. The claim relates to allegations by Conteh that Johannesburg-based Vodacom helped to undermine the businessman’s position as a statutory director of Congolese Wireless Network, which owns a 49% stake in Vodacom Congo. Conteh’s action in the Commercial Court of Kinshasa/Gombe also seeks to overturn a court decision stripping him of that position and to liquidate the Vodacom unit. ‘Vodacom International Limited is opposing Mr Conteh’s claim, which we believe is unfounded and unsubstantiated,’ spokespeson Tshepo Ramodibe is quoted as saying. The report notes Vodacom was in a dispute with CWN in 2012 about ownership and investment in the unit.

Full report on Moneyweb site