Yusuf Saloojee, who appeared briefly in a Johannesburg court on charges of corruption, was granted bail of R4,000.

JOHANNESBURG - The Hawks have arrested former South African ambassador to Iran Yusuf Saloojee for allegedly taking a bribe of R1.4 million in 2006.

Saloojee appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday on charges of corruption and was granted bail of R4,000.

The former ambassador is accused of facilitating the cancellation of a cellphone operating licence awarded to Turkish mobile company Turkcell by the government of Iran which was then awarded to MTN South Africa instead.

It’s believed the deal was worth over $31 billion.

Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said: “Based on this, we believe we are on the right track. We are happy with the arrest and at the same time, I think it will also send a strong message that anybody who wants to deal with any foreign bribery matters, we are on the ground and we work with all law enforcement agencies.”