MTN, as a sign of good faith and without prejudice, has paid the Federal Government of Nigerian some R3.8 billion and also dropped the court case against the government. This in the hopes that a settlement can be reached over the telecoms provider's R60 billion fine.
In October 2015, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) fined MTN just over 1 trillion Naira, (around R71 billion at the time) for not disconnecting unregistered SIMs on its network. Nigeria makes up for nearly 40% of MTN's sales. After several tense negotiations with Nigerian authorities, the fine was reduced by 25%.
- Read the full story regarding MTN's fine here.
The incident had a massively negative impact on the group's financials, leading to an expected 20% drop in headline earnings for its latest financial year.
Phuthuma Nhleko in his capacity as Executive Chairman of MTN Group and a director of MTN Nigeria continues to lead the team engaging the Nigerian Authorities with the hopes of soon settling the matter.
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