-
Delegates walk past the MTN logo at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town on February 7, 2024
Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) has announced that it is the subject of a grand jury investigation by the United States (US) Justice Department.
The probe will look into MTN’s operations in Afghanistan and Iran.
The mobile network operator owns 49% non-controlling interest in Irancell, while the stake in Afghanistan has been disposed of.
Speaking during the company’s results presentation in Johannesburg on Monday, MTN’s Group CEO Ralph Mupita says they were approached through its external US counsel.
Mupita says the operator is not being accused of any wrongdoing at this point.
He says, “We were as comprehensive as we can be with this kind of investigation. So there was a request through our lawyers for information and we said ‘we will collaborate’. The request for information is related to our previous market of Afghanistan and Iran. So that has been their request, we are talking to them. They are not accusing us of wrongdoing and that is far as we can disclose to you right now, anything else will be speculation.”
–Reporting Tshepo Mongoai and Liabo Setho.
