MTN Nigeria says all dividends it
paid to its shareholders between 2007 and 2015 were approved by the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The telco was reacting to the
claim by the central bank that it illegally converted shareholder loans to
preference share and repatriated $8.1 billion as dividends during the period
under scrutiny.
“MTN Nigeria strongly refutes
these allegations and claims. No dividends have been declared or paid by MTN
Nigeria other than pursuant to CCIs issued by our bankers and with the approval
of the CBN as required by law,” Nigeria’s leading telco said in a statement
issued on Thursday morning.
It promised to “engage with the
relevant authorities and vigorously defend our position on this matter and
provide further information when available”.
In 2015, the Nigerian government
fined MTN N1 trillion for failing to deactivate unregistered lines, but the
penalty was negotiated down to N330 billion out of which Abubakar Malami, the
attorney-general of the federation, said his ministry paid N500 million to
lawyers for helping with negotiations.
FULL TEXT OF MTN’S STATEMENT
MTN Nigeria Communications
Limited (MTN Nigeria) received a letter on 29 August 2018 from CBN alleging
that CCI’s issued in respect of the conversion of shareholders loans in MTN
Nigeria to preference shares in 2007 had been improperly issued. As a
consequence they claim that historic dividends repatriated by MTN Nigeria
between 2007 and 2015 amounting to $8,1 billion need to be refunded to the CBN.
MTN Nigeria strongly refutes
these allegations and claims. No dividends have been declared or paid by MTN
Nigeria other than pursuant to CCIs issued by our bankers and with the approval
of the CBN as required by law.
The issues surrounding the
CCI’shave already been the subject of a thorough enquiry by the Senate of
Nigeria. In September 2016 the Senate mandated the Committee on Banking,
Insurance and other Financial Institutions to carry out a holistic
investigation on compliance with the Foreign exchange (monitoring and
miscellaneous) Act by MTN Nigeria & Others. In its report issued in
November 2017, the findings evidenced that MTN Nigeria did not collude to
contravene the foreign exchange laws and there were no negative recommendations
made against MTN Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria, as a law-abiding
citizen of Nigeria, is committed to good governance and to abiding by the
extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The re-emergence of these
issues is regrettable as it damages investor confidence and, by extension,
inhibits the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
We will engage with the relevant
authorities and vigorously defend our position on this matter and provide
further information when available.
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