{"id":4849,"date":"2025-04-28T16:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T16:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/mtns-us-terrorism-lawsuits-may-put-accenture-and-deloitte-at-risk\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T19:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T19:21:12","slug":"mtns-us-terrorism-lawsuits-may-put-accenture-and-deloitte-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/mtns-us-terrorism-lawsuits-may-put-accenture-and-deloitte-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"MTN\u2019s US terrorism lawsuits may put Accenture and Deloitte at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p>Africa\u2019s largest telecoms group, MTN, is facing legal challenges under the United States Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which could have significant repercussions for its strategic partners, Deloitte and Accenture, according to a terrorism law expert.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Jeffrey Breinholt, a former senior official at the US Department of Justice, has warned that MTN\u2019s partners, including the reputable firms Deloitte and Accenture, may face legal scrutiny if the telecoms company\u2019s involvement in operations in Iran is deemed substantial.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy centres on a contract to provide telecoms services in Iran, which began in 2005 through its joint venture, MTN Irancell.<\/p>\n<p>Plaintiffs in the US cases include individuals whose loved ones were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during the US military presence. They argue that MTN facilitated communication for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, thereby aiding terrorists in orchestrating attacks.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview, Professor Breinholt told\u00a0<em>National Security News<\/em>\u00a0that strategic partners of the African company \u201ccould also be sued by the same plaintiffs if their level of responsibility in assisting MTN vis-\u00e0-vis the Iranians was significant.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe title=\"MTN\u2019s US terrorism lawsuits may put Accenture and Deloitte at risk - Prof Jeffrey Breinholt\" width=\"801\" height=\"451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F8g1-NdUTkM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Multinational groups targeted by plaintiffs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Around 30 to 40 per cent of ATA cases are frivolous, involving individuals who misunderstand the law, according to Professor Breinholt. He adds that a large percentage of these cases involve social media companies, which enjoy immunity from such legal actions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, even though social media companies have deep pockets, they are immune from this type of liability, which is why they have largely avoided lawsuits,\u201d says Professor Breinholt.<\/p>\n<p>However, when it comes to multinational companies, he cautions: \u201cIf they engage with designated terrorist groups, they will likely be sued by victims of terrorism, just as is happening with MTN.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns over MTN\u2019s financial disclosures <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The group has also been scrutinised for the quality of its disclosures regarding US terrorism litigation in its <a href=\"https:\/\/mg.co.za\/thought-leader\/opinion\/2025-04-23-criticism-of-mtn-disclosures-raises-questions-about-jonass-suitability-as-envoy\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">latest annual financial statements<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In its statements, MTN described the five ATA cases in the US as having been assessed as \u2018remote\u2019; therefore, no contingent liabilities were disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Breinholt says this statement appears to be misleading, suggesting that the company\u2019s claim that the risk is \u2018remote\u2019 carries implications of potential securities fraud.<\/p>\n<p>In response, MTN has stated it will not be commenting, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>MTN link could hamper new US envoy Mcebisi Jonas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1022\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0000833828_resized_mcebisihubertjonas110220315duane-2186319852.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9565\"  \/><\/figure>\n<p>The controversy has also raised questions about the suitability of MTN chair Mcebisi Jonas as South Africa\u2019s new envoy to Washington. Critics argue that Jonas\u2019s ties to Iranian operations could escalate tensions with the Trump administration, which views Iran as a hostile state.<\/p>\n<p>Jonas\u2019s past remarks about President Donald Trump, in which he referred to him as a racist, homophobe, and narcissistic right-winger, could also pose challenges. Jonas defended his comments, explaining that he was speaking as an activist at the time and that \u201cpeople move on.\u201d He also pointed out that President Trump\u2019s own Republican Party had previously been vocal in its criticism of him.<\/p>\n<p>Jonas said he is now focusing on the \u201ctask at hand\u201d of resetting relations with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the US should not be concerned. Magwenya emphasised the need to distinguish between MTN\u2019s investment in Iran\u2019s telecoms sector and the country\u2019s leadership and political establishment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\">\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">[WATCH] Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya defends the appointment of Mcebisi Jonas as a<br \/>Special Envoy to the United States. <\/p>\n<p>Concerns have arisen that Jonas&#8217; 2020 utterances calling POTUS Donald Trump a homophone and racist may come back to haunt him. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JusstAlpha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@JusstAlpha<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Aw8NTAhI1O\">pic.twitter.com\/Aw8NTAhI1O<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ewnreporter\/status\/1912465682416926995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Beyond legal risks, the controversy surrounding MTN\u2019s Iranian ties adds another layer of complexity to the Ramaphosa government\u2019s problematic ties with Washington.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa\u2019s largest telecoms group, MTN, is facing legal challenges under the United States Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which could have significant repercussions for its strategic partners, Deloitte and Accenture, according to a terrorism law expert. Professor Jeffrey Breinholt, a former senior official at the US Department of Justice, has warned that MTN\u2019s partners, including the reputable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4849","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4851,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4849\/revisions\/4851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/national\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}