Telecommunications giant, the MTN Group on Thursday said it denies that a United States (US) District Court gave the go-ahead for an Anti-Terrorism Act lawsuit as reported in a Business Report article.

LegalBrief Africa said on Wednesday that the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has allowed a “high-stakes Anti-Terrorism Act lawsuit against Africa’s telecoms giant, MTN Group, to advance to the discovery stage.”

LegalBrief Africa stated, “MTN Group has wasted no time in submitting an appeal, setting the stage for a precedent-setting legal battle that could rattle court and boardrooms alike for years to come.”

In a statement, MTN said it noted the article suggesting that there are new legal developments in the US regarding MTN.

"This is not true and we have requested for a retraction and correction. MTN has previously reported on this case, most recently in our quarterly update for the period to the end of September 2023, in which we made clear that on 28 September 2023, a judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York denied in part a motion by MTN to dismiss the Anti-Terrrosim Act claims against the Company in Zobay v. MTN – a case that was initiated against MTN in 2021," MTN stated.

"We said at the time that it meant that the case would proceed to the next phases, which include discovery (the exchange of information in the parties' possession), summary judgment motions (requests that the court grant judgment on the law, without a trial, because there are no factual disputes for a jury to resolve), and, if necessary, a trial. The court, however, did uphold the motion to dismiss the case against MTN Dubai on the grounds that the plaintiffs did not attribute any specific conduct to MTN Dubai. Accordingly, MTN Dubai is no longer a party to the proceedings," MTN further stated.

“The court's dismissal order does not mean that MTN has lost the case, nor does it suggest that MTN violated the law or otherwise engaged in wrongdoing. Under US law and procedures, MTN (and the other defendants in the case) could not challenge the factual allegations made against the company at the motion-to-dismiss phase. In the next phases of the litigation, MTN will have an opportunity to produce and solicit evidence to disprove plaintiffs' allegations,” MTN said its announcement said in November 2023.

The network company added that it has deep sympathy for those who have been injured or lost loved ones as result of the tragic conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"MTN firmly believes that the plaintiffs have sued the wrong defendants in the wrong court, based on insufficient allegations," MTN said.

The Business Report article stated that the lawsuit came just a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced MTN chairman Mcebisi Jonas as the country’s Special Envoy to the US in an effort to mend relations between the two countries.

BUSINESS REPORT