South African telecom firm MTN is facing now an allegation from the US, which accuses it of paying protection money to extremist groups in Afghanistan. Filed in the United States District Court of Columbia recently, the firm is alleged to have violated the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. The Act stipulates that paying protection money to al Qaeda and the Taliban is akin to supporting known terrorist organisations. Once the charges are proved, the company will have to pay damages to the U.S. military members and civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2017.MTN maintains that it conducts its business in a responsible and compliant manner in all its territories. At the same time, it is consulting its advisors about the implications of the charges and its defence strategies.
For MTN, the largest mobile operator in Africa and eighth largest in the world with 243.7 million subscribers, it is not a new allegation. It has faced scrutiny over its Iranian operations. Early last year, a former South African ambassador to Iran was arrested on charges of taking a bribe to help MTN win a US$31.6 billion licence to operate there. Its dispute with Nigerian government for selling unregistered SIM cards and the penalty it had to pay off is a common knowledge.
Upon hearing the charges, MTN stocks had taken a haircut in stock exchanges, where it has listed.
