MTN Shares Plunge To 9-Year Low After CBN Sanction

Shares of telecommunication company, MTN Group fell by about 19 percent on Thursday, its lowest in 9 years.

Channels Television reports that the African giant lost about $3 billion from its market capitalisation, after tumbling by 14 per cent to end at 86.99 rands.

This comes 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered the South African firm to refund the sum of $8.1 billion.

In what it described as ‘flagrant violation of extant laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the CBN also fined four banks the sum of N5.87 billion.

The four banks, according to CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, are Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic-IBTC, Citibank, and Diamond Bank.

The apex Bank explained that the actions of the Bank became necessary following allegations of remittance of foreign exchange with irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN and subsequent investigations carried out by the apex bank in March 2018.

“The CBN has asked the managements of the banks and MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to immediately refund the sum of $8,134,312,397.63, illegally repatriated by the company to the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the financial regulator said in a statement.

MTN has since denied the allegations, saying it will engage relevant authorities and provide further information on the matter.

In 2015, MTN Nigeria was fined N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers.

The fine was later reduced to N330 billion.