Telecommunications group MTN has vowed to “vigorously defend” the latest lawsuit brought against it by Turkish rival Turkcell.

The lawsuit, the summons of which had not yet been served on MTN, was the Turkish operator's fifth claim – and the first in South Africa – arising from its unsuccessful bid to obtain a mobile operator licence in Iran.

“Its [Turkcell’s] inability to procure the licence was as a result of its own failings, and not because of any impropriety by MTN, which is strongly denied,” MTN said in a statement this week.

Turkcell was seeking damages of $4.2-billion, plus interest and legal costs, on the back of claims that MTN blocked Turkcell’s receipt of the Iranian licence through alleged acts of bribery and corruption.

The allegations made by Turkcell and the resultant legal proceedings were “nothing but a spurious attempt to claim monies to which Turkcell is not entitled”, MTN stated.

“MTN understands that the claim is now made against MTN, its wholly owned subsidiary MTN International (Mauritius) and others.

“The lawsuit, launched in South Africa, was premised on substantially the same unfounded allegations, which Turkcell took to the US to invoke a 1789 Alien Tort Statute.”

The proceedings, under what had become known as the “Kiobel case”, which allowed US courts some jurisdiction in certain foreign human rights and torture cases, was dismissed in May this year, after which Turkcell withdrew its case.

This had followed three previous attempts by Turkcell and its subsidiary, East Asian Consortium (EAC).

In an Iranian court, the Turkish operator attempted to “restrain the Iranian Ministry of Telecommunications from committing what the EAC alleged were breaches of certain statutory requirements and agreements”, while initiating arbitration under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) against the Iran Electronic Development Company for alleged breach of a shareholder’s agreement concluded between the parties in 2004.

The ICC Tribunal dismissed Turkcell’s claims in a final award in April 2012.

A 2008 arbitration against the Iran government under the Turkey–Iran Bilateral Investment Treaty has not yet been decided.