illegal Repatriation of $8.1b: MTN Nigeria Denies CBN Claims

Related stories

How Dangote Refinery Has Affected Petrol Production In the European Market — OPEC

By Abiola Olawale The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)...

[VIDEO] Pomp and Pegeantry As Uzodinma Holds Stunning Wedding Anniversary Event

By Abiola Olawale The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma,...

First Bank Vs GHL: Legal Dispute Escalates As Crude Oil Cargo Owned By General Hydrocarbons Limited is Detained

By Abiola Olawale The legal disputes between Nigeria's oldest financial...

Economic Reforms: Your Statements Are Biased, Partisan – FG Replies Emir Sanusi

By Kolawole Ojebisi The Federal Government has described as "amusing"...

El-Rufai Vs Uba Sani: Tension As ICPC Drags El- Rufai’s Ally, Jimi Lawal To Court For Alleged Fraud

By Abiola Olawale The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related...

MTN Nigeria on Thursday refuted the claims by the Central Bank of Nigeria that it illegally, in collusion with four Nigerian banks repatriated $8.1billion from its Nigerian operations to offshore investors. MTN-Office The CBN said the remittances between 2007 and 2015, in tranches of of 2.63 billion dollars, 1.766 billion dollars and 348 million dollars were done in flagrant violation of the rule that says it can only be done with regular ‘Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs)’ issued by the apex bank.

The CBN said MTN did the repatriation after illegally converting shareholders’ loan of $399, 594,146 to preference shares. As part of the sanctions, four banks, Stanbic IBTC Nigeria, Citibank Nigeria and Diamond Bank Plc, were fined by the CBN. Standard Chartered Bank would pay a fine of N2.47 billion, Stanbic IBTC, N1.88 billion, Citibank Nigeria, N1.26 billion and Diamond bank, N250 million. Mr Funso Aina, Public Relations Manager, Corporate Affairs/Corporate Relations MTN denied the claims by the CBN “MTN Nigeria received a letter on Aug 29 from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alleging that Certificate of Capital Important (CCIs) 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,” he said. Aina said that the issues surrounding the CCIs had already been the subject of a thorough enquiry by the Senate of Nigeria. He added that 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.

He said that 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 abide 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. CBN’s spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor, said the apex bank has written MTN Nigeria demanding a refund of the $8.13 billion, repatriated. The Bank resolved to sanction the commercial banks following investigations in March 2018, which confirmed allegations of remittance of foreign exchange with irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria.

Hamilton Nwosa
Hamilton Nwosa
Hamilton Nwosa is an experienced, and committed communication, business, administrative, data and research specialist . His deep knowledge of the intersection between communication, business, data, and journalism are quite profound. His passion for professional excellence remains the guiding principle of his work, and in the course of his career spanning sectors such as administration, tourism, business management, communication and journalism, Hamilton has won key awards. He is a delightful writer, researcher and data analyst. He loves team-work, problem-solving, organizational management, communication strategy, and enjoys travelling. He can be reached at: hamilton_68@yahoo.com

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

[tds_leads input_placeholder="Your email address" btn_horiz_align="content-horiz-center" pp_msg="SSd2ZSUyMHJlYWQlMjBhbmQlMjBhY2NlcHQlMjB0aGUlMjAlM0NhJTIwaHJlZiUzRCUyMiUyMyUyMiUzRVByaXZhY3klMjBQb2xpY3klM0MlMkZhJTNFLg==" pp_checkbox="yes" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXRvcCI6IjMwIiwibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjQwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMTUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3NjgsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMjAiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sImxhbmRzY2FwZV9tYXhfd2lkdGgiOjExNDAsImxhbmRzY2FwZV9taW5fd2lkdGgiOjEwMTksInBob25lIjp7Im1hcmdpbi10b3AiOiIyMCIsImRpc3BsYXkiOiIifSwicGhvbmVfbWF4X3dpZHRoIjo3Njd9" display="column" gap="eyJhbGwiOiIyMCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTAiLCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxNSJ9" f_msg_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_input_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_btn_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_family="downtown-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_weight="700" f_btn_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_transform="uppercase" btn_text="Unlock All" btn_bg="#000000" btn_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxOCIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjE0IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxNCJ9" input_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMCJ9" pp_check_color_a="#000000" f_pp_font_weight="600" pp_check_square="#000000" msg_composer="" pp_check_color="rgba(0,0,0,0.56)" msg_succ_radius="0" msg_err_radius="0" input_border="1" f_unsub_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_msg_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_weight="500" f_msg_font_weight="500" f_unsub_font_weight="500"]

Latest stories

Latest News
How Dangote Refinery Has Affected Petrol Production In the European Market -- OPEC[VIDEO] Pomp and Pegeantry As Uzodinma Holds Stunning Wedding Anniversary EventFirst Bank Vs GHL: Legal Dispute Escalates As Crude Oil Cargo Owned By General Hydrocarbons Limited is DetainedEconomic Reforms: Your Statements Are Biased, Partisan - FG Replies Emir SanusiEl-Rufai Vs Uba Sani: Tension As ICPC Drags El- Rufai’s Ally, Jimi Lawal To Court For Alleged FraudCBN Raises Concern: How Nigerians Blew N3.7bn On Medical Tourism In 9MonthsMinister Makes Shocking Revelations, says FG, Telecos Working On 30% to 60% Tariff IncrementMoney Laundering: El-Rufai's Camp In Turmoil As ICPC Charges Jimi Lawal, Ex-Gov's Aide To Court[VIDEO] Drama As FG, Emir Sanusi Engage In War of Words Over Economic Reforms"You Are Global Stars," Tinubu Lauds Six Nigerian Scientists, Engineers Honoured by BidenTribunal Gunshots: We Won't Be Distracted From Reclaiming Our Mandate -- IghodaloTelecomms Tariff Hike: Anxieties Mount As Minister Assures Increase Won't Exceed 60%All Joy As Omo-Agege Meets Old Classmates In Delta StateHow BRICS Stacks Up Against the G7 EconomiesConcerns Mount As Report Ranks Nigeria Amongst Countries With Least Global Living Quality Index
X whatsapp