CPDM Crime Syndicate: Supreme Court transfers MTN–Danpullo cases from Douala to South Region ⁰

Cameroon’s Supreme Court has ordered two courts in Douala to relinquish jurisdiction over pending cases involving MTN Cameroon and Bestinver Cameroun, a company linked to businessman Baba Ahmadou Danpullo. In a ruling issued on October 28, 2026, the court, sitting in a joint session of its chambers, transferred the proceedings from the Wouri High Court and the Littoral Court of Appeal to courts in the South Region.

According to an extract from the court hearing record issued on November 5, 2026, cases pending before the Wouri High Court will now be heard by the Ntem High Court. Those before the Littoral Court of Appeal have been transferred to the South Court of Appeal. In ruling No. 01/FCR, the Supreme Court accepted the transfer requests and found them justified. It ordered both Douala courts to relinquish jurisdiction and held the parties jointly liable for court costs.

The document identifies MTN Cameroon Limited and Bestinver Cameroun SA as parties to the same transfer proceedings. Their respective lawyers, Me Memong Philippe and Me Njoya, both agreed with the report presented by Justice Sockeng Roger. The public prosecutor also submitted conclusions consistent with that report. However, the hearing record does not explain why the Supreme Court decided to remove the cases from the Littoral courts. Nor does the ruling address the merits of the parties’ financial claims.

A Legal Dispute That Began in 2022

The decision comes more than four years after the legal dispute between MTN Cameroon and companies in the Bestinver group began. The conflict originated in a disagreement between real estate companies linked to Baba Ahmadou Danpullo and their South African bank, First National Bank. That dispute prompted the businessman to initiate legal proceedings against several companies operating in Cameroon, including MTN.

In September 2022, Bestinver group companies obtained court-ordered seizures of funds held in the telecom operator’s bank accounts. MTN has consistently disputed that it owes Bestinver any money. On February 24, 2025, the Littoral Court of Appeal ordered the seizures on MTN Cameroon’s bank accounts to be lifted. The operator announced the decision on March 31, 2025, and Reuters subsequently reported it. However, that ruling did not bring all the legal proceedings to an end.

In July 2026, media reports indicated that the Supreme Court had suspended several proceedings involving Bestinver companies, MTN Cameroon, Chococam, and Broadband Telecom since April 2025, pending a decision on whether to transfer them to other courts. The October 28 ruling follows those developments. Its scope is limited to transferring the pending cases specified in the decision. It does not establish whether MTN owes Bestinver any money or determine what will happen to the funds involved in the various seizure proceedings.

Source: Business in Cameroon