Former MTN Group CEO Phuthuma Nhleko has distanced himself from a controversial mobile operating licence in Iran that put together a package of bribes, trading opportunities in sophisticated weaponry, capital investment and diplomatic influence that the Islamic Republic could not resist.
“I can state quite categorically that during my tenure as group CEO of MTN [that] no bribes were authorised or paid by the MTN Group to any SA or Iranian government officials to secure the mobile licence in Iran.”
Nhleko rubbished the report that initially appeared in the Mail & Guardian this week.
“The allegations made by Turkcell are far-fetched and without foundation. MTN’s conduct was not unlawful or corrupt and MTN was certainly not in a position where it could influence or fetter the decisions made by the SA government or any other sovereign state.”
In this week’s newspaper, the M&G detailed that Turkcell had instituted litigation against MTN in the US after it was pushed out of the deal when MTN arrived on the scene. It backed up the allegation with a raft of what appeared to be internal MTN documents, leaked from the heart of the company’s Iran operation.
The allegations are set out in a US$4bn (R32-billion) lawsuit launched in the US district court of Columbia in Washington, DC this week.
The scheme, allegedly known in MTN as “Project Snooker”, was allegedly driven from the top by then-chief Nhleko, with the assistance of Irene Charnley (then commercial director), and Sifiso Dabengwa (then chief operating officer). — Mail & Guardian
- Visit the Mail & Guardian Online, the smart news source