Telecoms giant MTN on Monday said it was reviewing allegations raised in a US complaint that accuses several firms of paying protection money to militant Islamist groups in Afghanistan.
It alleges that the firms violated the US Anti-Terrorism Act by paying protection money to al Qaeda and the Taliban, thereby providing material support to known terrorist organisations.
Five other companies were also named in the filing.
The complaint alleges MTN paid bribes to al-Qaida and the Taliban to avoid having to invest in in expensive security for their transmission towers.
The alleged payments helped finance a Taliban-led insurgency that led to the attacks in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2017, the accusations say
It is alleged that the money helped to provide “material support to known terrorist organisations,” thus violating the anti-terrorism legislation.
The South African telecommunications giant says it remains of the view that it conducts its business in a “responsible and compliant manner in all its territories”.
MTN is Africa’s largest mobile operator and the eighth largest in the world, with more than 240 million subscribers.
In 2015, the firm was fined more than $5bn (£3.8bn) by the Nigerian authorities for failing to cut off unregistered sim cards – a figure that was reduced to $1.7bn after a long legal dispute and the intervention of South Africa’s then President Jacob Zuma.
In February, a former South African ambassador to Iran was arrested in the capital, Pretoria, on charges that he took a bribe to help MTN win a $31.6bn (£24bn) license to operate in Iran.
| Posted: at | |
TRENDING GISTS 
Gunmen Kill One, Abduct Seven Along Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway
VIDEO: Skitmaker, Erekere Shows Off His Newly Acquired Benz GLE
BREAKING: Vice President Shettima Cancels Summit Trip To US Over Faulty Aircraft
How British Charity Employed Nigerian Man, Peter Omoruyi Convicted For Sex Trafficking In France