U.S. Attorney reacts to MTN Afghanistan’s exit amid alleged links to Iran’s IRGC, Al Qaeda
A U.S. Attorney reacted to reports regarding the withdrawal of MTN telecommunications company from Afghanistan and Middle East.
Ryan Sparacino, one of the attorneys who brought the lawsuit against MTN over alleged payments to terrorists in Afghanistan, issued a statement, stating that “As the families allege in their complaint, MTN is effectively a joint venture partner with the IRGC, Iran’s leading terrorist organization. Instead of immediately ending its relationship with the IRGC, and its related support for Iran-backed terrorists in Afghanistan, MTN has decided to try to squeeze every last dollar out of its partnership with the Iranians.”
Reuters reported on Thursday that MTN Afghanistan, a child company to the Global MTN, the largest telecommunication firm in South-Africa has announced to exit from Afghanistan and the Middle in order to solely focus on its Pan-African strategy.
The group is scheduled to sell its shares in Syria, Yamen and Afghanistan to other telecom providers in order to end its operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
According to the report, MTN Afghanistan is accused of bribing the Taliban militants in Afghanistan to ‘safeguard’ its telecom towers and buying a 15-year old operation license in Iran through the payment of incentives.
However, MTN Afghanistan denied the allegations.
This comes as reports emerged in January 2020 suggesting that the company has paid bribes to both the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist groups in Afghanistan in order to safeguard its telecom towers.
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