That does not mean that MTN has not recognised all the red flags. Sources in London said that MTN wanted to off-load its 49% stake in Irancell, but the negotiations had been made more difficult by Turkcell’s allegations that:
MTN made improper payments to an Iranian and a South African government official;
It encouraged the South African government to take a favourable position on Iran’s civil nuclear power development programme at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in November 2005; and
It lobbied South African government support for the provision of military equipment to Iran.
The Iranian and South African governments and MTN have denounced these claims as having no legal merit. MTN announced a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and commissioned an independent inquiry last month, led by fearless South African-born Lord Leonard Hoffmannn, a former British Supreme Court judge.
Hoffmann and his team have been gathering information and he is hoping to announce his findings in a few months.
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