SA police unit opens investigation into MTN corruption allegations – report

The Hawks, the elite unit of the South African police has opened investigation into allegations of corruption at MTN Group, the Reuters news service reports.

The report citing a spokesman of the Hawks says the investigation is related to MTN’s purchase of a mobile license in Iran.

MTN is the largest mobile operator on the African continent. The company recorded 170,573,000 subscribers as at March 31, 2012.

South Africa’s Democratic Alliance defense spokesperson David Maynier wrote to the SA Police Services Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations (the Hawks) to investigate the bribery allegations leveled at MTN by Turkish mobile operator,Turkcell Iletisim.

Turkcell was MTN’s rival in bidding for the 2004 Iranian license.

In court papers filed in the US, Turkcell alleged that MTN bribed government officials from both Iran and South Africa to win the bid.

The allegations also suggest that MTN persuaded the South African government to formulate its foreign policy on Iran to defend that country’s nuclear programme that the US, European Union and Israel claim was aimed at the manufacturing of atomic weapons. Iran has however, denied that charge.

Following this, MTN took its own quasi-legal steps to investigate the allegations. It appointed a commission headed by internationally recognised jurist Lord Hoffman to investigate the factual allegations.

In its founding papers for the US court case Turkcell alleged that MTN used its influence to ensure that South Africa abstained from voting on an important issue before the International Atomic Energy Agency on the Iranian project.

Maynier said that the Turkcell papers showed there was enough reason for the South African authorities to investigate MTN in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act – a law that was passed in 2004, the same year that MTN got the license from Iran.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi