MTN suspends dividends in Nigeria – new CEO to start sooner
MTN Group has announced that its new CEO, Rob Shuter, will be starting his job three months ahead of schedule, as the company suspends dividends in Nigeria amid allegations it moved as much as $14 billion out of the country illegally.
Shuter – a former Vodafone European boss – was due to start in July next year but MTN said in a statement accompanying its quarterly update he would now start on 13 March 2017.
In the quarterly results, MTN said that it would be suspending the dividend out of Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria is facing fresh allegations of misconduct with authorities accusing the operator of illegally moving $14 billion (R189.8 billion) out of the country.
Dino Melaye, the politician who made the motion, accused MTN of repatriating the money over a period of 10 years beginning in 2006, with the help of four different banks.
MTN Nigeria’s CEO Ferdi Moolman refuted the allegations, saying that “the allegations made against MTN Nigeria are completely unfounded and without any merit.”
In the latest development on the matter, MTN said the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has commenced an investigation into the alleged “unscrupulous violation” of Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Act.
“MTN Nigeria, four commercial banks, certain MTN Nigeria directors and shareholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria and others appeared before the Senate on 20 October 2016 at the outset of this investigation,” the group said.
Earlier this year, MTN agreed to pay a reduced fine of 330 billion naira ($1.08 billion) to end a long running dispute over unregistered SIM cards in Nigeria.
Shares in the company have fallen by more than 14% to their lowest level in more than six years since the latest issue surfaced on September 27th.
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