Telecoms companies slug out corruption and sanctions-busting claims in public

A bitter spat is playing out between two rival telecoms companies – South  Africa’s MTN and Turkey’s Turkcell  – over allegations that MTN bribed its way, and used high-level political contacts, to acquire contracts in Iran. Among the alleged ‘services’ provided by MTN was, alleges Turkcell, the assurance that South Africa would vote in favour of Iran at key meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (‘IAEA’), and also that it could provide Iran with defence equipment ‘other­wise prohibited by nat­ion­al and international laws’.   Damages claim On 28 March 2012, Turkcell filed an initial complaint to that effect in...