MTN confused over whether it or banks must refund dividends money to Nigerian regulator

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By Loni Prinsloo

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Wireless operator refutes all claims made by central bank

MTN Plunges After Nigeria Orders Refund of $8.1 Billion Dividend
MTN Group Ltd. questioned why it has to return $8.1 billion in dividends from its Nigerian business to the central bank, which accused Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator of illegally moving money out of the country.

It is “very strange” that the regulator is ordering the dividends be paid to the central bank and not the “company that paid them in the first place,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter said during a conference call with investors. “MTN has also seen the letters to the banks which have been sanctioned and the regulator is asking them to repatriate the $8.1 billion. Not clear if they expect the money to be refunded twice. MTN and the banks?”

The wireless operator is back in the regulator’s sights after a probe by the Nigerian senate in November last year cleared the Johannesburg-based company of wrongdoing. MTN said in 2016, when the claims first surfaced, that its bankers had obtained central bank approvals before any dividends were issued.

The process of repatriating funds is very closely regulated, Shuter said. “If you want to repatriate money you need to show it was brought in in the first place,” he said. “MTN Nigeria is well and responsibly run.”

The regulator fined Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered Plc, Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s Stanbic IBTC and Diamond Bank Plc about 5.9 billion naira ($16.2 million) for helping to move the money, Nigeria’s central bank said in an emailed statement Wednesday. The banks and MTN were ordered to refund the cash.

Naija247news
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Naija247news is an investigative news platform that tracks news on Nigerian Economy, Business, Politics, Financial and Africa and Global Economy.

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