MTN Agrees $1.67bn Final Settlement With Federal Government
MTN Nigeria has finally reached an agreement with the Nigerian government over $5.2bn fine slammed on the company. The company has agreed to pay nearly $1.7bn over three years to the Nigerian government, bringing an end to a dispute over failures to disconnect unregistered sim cards being used in the country.
The final settlement of $1.67bn – which is equivalent to 300bn Naira at the current official exchange rate – is just a fraction of the $5.2bn the company had originally been facing for failing to disconnect more than 5m unregistered mobile subscriptions as part of a crackdown on criminals and militants in Nigeria.
The original penalty had already been reduced once to $3.9bn which MTN refused to pay and instead sought relief through the court.
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In February, MTN hired Eric Holder, the former US attorney-general, to help challenge the penalty.
MTN’s executive chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, reacting to the development, expressed his “thanks and gratitude” to the Nigerian government “for the spirit in which the matter was resolved”.
Article from FT was used in this report.
