From South Africa #14 thread 1 of 3

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“US Anti-Terrorism Cases Against [South Africa’s] MTN Group Put Multinationals in Peril”

https://www.fpri.org/article/2025/05/us-anti-terrorism-cases-against-mtn-group-put-multinationals-in-peril/

Michael Walsh

May 15, 2025

In April 2025, legal scholars raised concerns about the ongoing Iran-related terrorism cases against the MTN Group in the US court system. Professor Jeffrey Breinholt of George Washington University even went so far as to express his belief that MTN Group may have committed securities fraud. A few weeks ago, MTN Group experienced another unwelcome development. After more than a decade in the South African courts, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that South African courts have jurisdiction to hear a separate Iran-linked bribery case brought against MTN Group. Its legal woes mounting, legal scholars are now saying that multinational companies should do more to notify their own shareholders of the risks of their own business partnerships with the MTN Group. That includes US financial services companies (e.g., BNY Mellon; Mastercard), professional services companies (e.g., Accenture; Covington & Burling; Deloitte), and technology companies (e.g., Apple; Meta; Microsoft).

On 17 March 2025, the MTN Board of Directors authorized the most recent version of its Annual Financial Statements. That report disclosed that MTN Group is involved in a total of five Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) cases in US courts.

One of those cases is Zobay v. MTN Group Limited. That case alleges that MTN Group is legally responsible for damages involving “a group of American citizens killed or injured by terrorist attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2011 and 2019.”

On 28 September 2023, the plaintiffs passed the first major legal hurdle in their case when a United States District Court ruled that they had plausibly stated a claim for aiding and abetting liability against MTN Group, and the court denied a motion to dismiss MTN Group from the case.

That order carries political implications for President Cyril Ramaphosa, who served as the MTN Chairman of the Board from 2002 to 2013. That means that he was at the helm when some of the aiding and abetting-related claims are said to have occurred. According to William Saunderson-Meyer, “MTN’s close connections to the (African National Congress) elite” creates “a gigantic political problem” for South Africa.

Over the past few years, MTN has established business relationships with several multinational corporations that have a US jurisdictional nexus. Prominent examples include Accenture, Apple, Bank of New York Mellon, Ericsson, Deloitte, Genesys, IHS Towers, Mastercard, Microsoft, and Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.

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From South Africa #14 thread 2 of 3

>>23235880

“Stefanik Demands BNY Mellon Provide Transparency over Troubling Ties to Iranian-Linked Terrorist Organizations”

https://stefanik.house.gov/2025/6/stefanik-demands-bny-mellon-provide-transparency-over-troubling-ties-to-iranian-linked-terrorist-organizations

June 11, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik issued a letter to Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) demanding transparency concerning its sponsorship of the South African telecommunications company MTN Group through its American Depository Receipts (ADR) program, which has ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the facilitation of funding and support for Iranian state-sponsored terrorism.–

Grave national security concerns stem from MTN Group’s 49 percent ownership of Iran Cell, Iran’s largest mobile operator, which U.S. authorities and courts link directly to terrorist activities that resulted in the injury and death of American servicemembers and civilians.

Stefanik added, "Furthermore, MTN’s long-time chairman and current South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has amassed significant personal wealth through his association with the company. Ramaphosa’s government has aggressively opposed Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, including filing genocide accusations against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa’s increasing alignment with Iran, an avowed sponsor of terrorism and antisemitism, poses profound ethical and geopolitical questions. The country’s diplomatic, ideological, and financial ties to Iran, including signing two memorandum of understanding with Hamas and support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions, exacerbate these concerns."

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From the South Africa #14 board 3 of 3

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“Ramaphosa’s MTN ties fuel Starlink backlash”

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-sunday-independent/20250608/281513642101572

8 Jun 2025

MTN’s Digital Infrastructure Chief Executive Officer, Mazen Mroué, had, on December 14, 2023, while he was still the group’s chief technology and information officer, revealed that there were engagements with SpaceX’s Starlink, with enterprise-grade trials under way in Rwanda and Nigeria.

Former finance deputy minister Jonas was appointed MTN Group chairperson on June 1, 2018, and on April 14, 2025, Ramaphosa appointed him as his special envoy to the US with the responsibility of advancing South Africa's diplomatic, trade, and bilateral priorities.

Ramaphosa led the delegation to Washington to negotiate with Trump on May 21 to save South Africa/US trade agreements and recruit new investors.

The Presidency had listed Jonas as among the delegation, but he did not go due to his business commitments, although he had contributed to the preparation of that meeting.

Before the two leaders held a private meeting at the White House, there was a media brief¬ing in which the issue of genocide and crime was discussed. It was in that brief¬ing that South African billionaire Johann Rupert pleaded with Trump to assist South Africa with modern technology to ght crime and even suggested, in the presence of Musk, that Starlink should come to the country.

The negotiation took place before it was reported that Trump had fired Musk as his senior advisor and Department of Government Efficiency head.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi raised eyebrows when, on May 23, two days after the White House meeting, issued a statement announcing the relaxation of the B-BBEE Act in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector to “allow qualifying multinationals to meet empowerment obligations through alternatives to 30% ownership”. This opened the floodgates of reaction, including from politicians and civil society groups who believed that Malatsi was facilitating the licensing of Starlink by bypassing B-BBEE requirements.