The appeals court ruled that the South African courts have jurisdiction to hear a matter regarding allegations of bribery and corruption against MTN and its former executives.
The allegations against MTN and its former executives go back to the licensing of MTN Irancell , in which MTN has a 49 stake, a licence that Turkcell has claimed was awarded irregularly. An independent committee in 2012 exonerated MTN of any wrongdoing, but Turkcell has continued its fight to have the matter heard in local and international legal forums.
"This is the latest attempt by MTN and the other defendants to delay trial," said Cedric Soule, global counsel for Turkcell, in a statement on Thursday.
"The supreme court of appeal clearly decided that South African courts have jurisdiction in this matter and unequivocally rejected all of the objections raised by MTN, Nhleko and Charnley. We remain confident that when the full evidence is presented at trial, it will demonstrate that MTN engaged in corrupt practices to secure the Iranian licence initially awarded to Turkcell."
At the time of the ruling, MTN emphasised that the court's decision was purely on juristic grounds and had no bearing on "the merits of Turkcell's claims or the allegations made against MTN Group, which have not yet been tested in court".