US court puts Turkcell lawsuit on hold

INLSA

File Photo: Tracey Adams

A United States Federal Court has ruled that a lawsuit by Turkcell, accusing MTN of bribery, be put on hold until a Supreme Court ruling on whether the matter can be heard in a US court, MTN said on Friday.

“MTN continues to believe that there is no legal merit to Turkcell's claim and no basis for such claim to be brought before a US court,” the telecommunications group said in a statement.

The Turkish mobile operator filed a US4billion (about R35.5bn) lawsuit against MTN in a US court.

It accused MTN of bribing Iranians and South Africans to acquire a mobile phone licence in Iran. Turkcell claimed that it initially had acquired the license.

MTN said it expected the lawsuit to be thrown out as soon as the supreme court had made its decision.

“That is expected to happen by the end of June 2013.” - Sapa