South Africans Kick against CBN, AGF Orders on MTN ...MTN Group CEO Still Confident in Nigeria Project

South Africans who attended Nigeria's Investment Forum on Tuesday at the ongoing ITU Telecom World 2018 conference in Durban, South Africa, have frown at the orders of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), which directed MTN Nigeria to refund a total of $10.134 billion for funds repatriated out of Nigeria between 2007 and 2015, and unpaid tax arrears for the same period.

They expressed bitterness over the directives and accused Nigerian Government of trying to frustrate MTN business in the country.

According to them, the action of the Nigerian Government was harsh on MTN which has invested so much in the Nigerian economy.

They had a strong feeling that Nigerian Government wants to ground MTN investments in Nigeria, and questioned the rationale for the directive on funds refund and payment of tax arrears, totaling $10.134 billion on the orders from CBN and AGF.

But the Group Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Mr. Rob Shuter, on Tuesday in South Africa, restated MTN's commitment to continue to invest in Nigeria despite the financial challenges that the telecoms company is facing with Nigerian regulators.

Shuter, who was reacting to questions raised by some invitees at the Nigerian Investment Forum, who were mostly South Africans, assured the South Africans, the home of MTN headquarters, that the current challenges faced by MTN in Nigeria would not consume the telecoms company, and that the company was already making arrangements to resolve the challenges amicably.

Responding to their queries, Shuter said MTN would not be deterred by the directives, but would continue to do business in Nigeria.

According to him, "MTN has been in Nigeria since 2001. Nigeria has been a home to MTN since 2001 and MTN is proud of Nigeria, and would continue to do business in the country."

Responding to questions raised at the Nigerian Investment Forum as to what the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, is doing about the issues, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said NCC had meditated in previous issues faced by MTN Nigeria and would also mediate in the current issue concerning the $10.134 billion funds repatriation and unpaid tax arrears.

"What MTN is passing through could have ripple effects on the sector, and we must intervene to ensure that the issue is amicably resolved early enough," Danbatta said.

Meanwhile, MTN had last Monday sued the CBN and the AGF at a Federal High Court, challenging the directives of CBN and the AGF over the matter.

MTN Nigeria asked the court to restrain the CBN and the AGF from taking further action in respect of their orders.

While the CBN accused MTN Nigeria of illegally repatriating the sum of $8.134 billion out of Nigeria between 2007 and 2015, the AGF accused MTN Nigeria of unpaid tax arrears of $2 billion within the same period.

According to MTN Nigeria, it would continue to categorically and unequivocally deny all charges related to the CBN and the AGF investigations into the company’s Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) and unpaid taxes respectively.

The CBN had slammed a fine of N5.87 billion on four banks over the violation of extant laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995, and the Foreign Exchange Manual, 2006. The highest fine of N2, 470,604,767.13 was slammed on Standard Chartered Bank, while Stanbic IBTC Nigeria was fined N1, 885,852,847.45.

For the alleged infraction, Citibank got N1, 265,541,562.31 fines just as Diamond Bank was directed to pay N250 million penalty.

Also affected, was MTN Nigeria, which the CBN directed to immediately refund $8,134,312,397.63, which was illegally repatriated by the telecoms company, to the coffers of the bank.