* See complaint here: https://afghanistan.terrorismcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019-12-27-001-COMPLAINT.pdf
(Updates with G4S comment in 6th paragraph)
By Tanishaa Nadkar and Mfuneko Toyana
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 30 (Reuters) - South African telecoms firm
MTN on Monday said it was reviewing allegations raised
in a U.S. complaint which accuses several firms of paying
protection money to militant Islamist groups in Afghanistan.
The complaint was filed in the United States District Court
in the District of Columbia on Friday.
It alleges the firms violated the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act by
paying protection money to al Qaeda and the Taliban, thereby
providing material support to known terrorist organisations.
It seeks damages on behalf of U.S. military members and
civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan between 2009 and
2017.
"MTN is reviewing the details of the report and is
consulting its advisers but remains of the view that it conducts
its business in a responsible and compliant manner in all its
territories," the company said in a statement.
UK security services company G4S, which was also
named in the lawsuit, declined to comment.
The complaint follows investigations by a group of large
Washington-based law firms and alleges firms provided "material
support" to known terrorists leading to numerous U.S. injuries
and deaths, according to a statement by the law firms involved.
MTN spokeswoman Nompilo Morafo said the company could not
yet respond directly to the specific allegations in the report
as it was still going through the details.
"We cannot comment further than what we've said in the
statement. We want a chance to review the allegations. We only
received the suit on Friday and we're still going through it. I
also can't confirm how long it's going to take," Morafo said.
MTN is Africa's largest mobile operator and eighth biggest
in the world with 243.7 million subscribers. It has previously
faced scrutiny over its Iranian operations.
In February a former South African ambassador to Iran was
arrested on charges that he took a bribe to help MTN win a $31.6
billion licence to operate there.
The company has also faced costly disputes over unregistered
SIM cards, tax and dividend repatriation in Nigeria.
(Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; additional reporting by Pushkala
Aripaka; editing by Jason Neely)
