Mobile network MTN said regulators in Nigeria have adjusted the company\u2019s multi-billion dollar fine upwards again from $3.4 billion (R48.9 billion) to $3.9 billion (R56 billion).<\/p>\n
On October 26, MTN announced that it had been fined $5.6 billion in Nigeria for failing to disconnect up to five million unregistered SIM cards in a timely manner.<\/p>\n
Then on Thursday, the mobile network – which is Nigeria\u2019s biggest with over 60 million subscribers – said that the Nigerian Communications Commission had cut the fine to $3.4 billion dollars.<\/p>\n
But in a twist, MTN on Friday morning told shareholders in a statement that its fine had actually not been reduced by 35% – as indicated from a first letter from the NCC on December 2 – but actually by 25%.<\/p>\n
\u201cLate on 3 December 2015, the day after receipt of the first letter, the company received a further letter from the NCC dated 3 December 2015 (the second letter).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second letter, which was stated to supersede the first letter, informed the company that the fine had actually been reduced by 25% to 780 billion naira ($3.9 billion) and not by 35% to 674 billion naira ($3.4 billion), as was stated in the first letter. The payment date remained 31 December 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither the first letter nor the second letter sets out any details on how the reduction was determined,\u201d said MTN.<\/p>\n
The company further said that executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko plans to \u201cimmediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerian Authorities\u201d regarding the change in the fine.<\/p>\n
MTN\u2019s mega fine in Nigeria has become a headache for the company which has since seen its previous group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa quit and its share price decimated by up to a fifth on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the company also announced that its Nigeria CEO Michael Ikpoki and its head of regulatory and corporate affairs in that country, Akinwale Goodluck, had resigned.<\/p>\n
Fin24<\/a><\/p>\n MTN Nigeria fine cut by a third<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n MTN shares plummet 12.5% after R71 billion fine<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on MTN<\/h3>\n