Watch – The Iran scandal MTN doesn’t want in court

A telecoms licence. A $4.2 billion corruption claim. Accusations of bribery, nuclear diplomacy, and attack helicopters. For nearly two decades, Turkcell has claimed that MTN used political influence and backdoor deals to win a mobile network contract in Iran. As the case heads toward South Africa’s Constitutional Court, Daily Maverick business journalist Lindsey Schutters unpacks what’s at stake — and why this could become one of the country’s biggest corporate trials.