A court in the Caribbean has ruled in favour of TeliaSonera in its long running legal fight with Cukurova over the ownership of Turkcell.

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has put restrictions on locally-registered units in which Cukurova Holding holds stakes, said TeliaSonera. It is through these units that  Cukurova controls Turkcell.

The decision by the court means the units, in particular British Virgin Islands-registered Cukurova Telecom Holdings, which has a controlling interest in Turkcell, is restricted from any deals involving its stake until a hearing on 26 March.

The court’s decision is the latest in what is a long-running legal battle.

Separately, Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (CMB)  announced the appointment of three independent board members to the board of Turkcell, said TeliaSonera. The three newcomers replace board members who represented each of the company’s major shareholders.

TeliaSonera welcomed the decision which, it said, was made by the CMB due to “Turkcell’s failure at complying with corporate governance regulation”. The term of duty of the new appointees is until Turkcell appoints its own independent members.

TeliaSonera will now push for an AGM “at the earliest possible time” where shareholers can approve changes to Turkcell’s articles of association, elect new board members and approve financial accounts so that dividends can be paid again, said Per-Arne Blomquist, president and CEO of TeliaSonera.