Nigeria and Africa’s largest telecom network, MTN is facing a new rash of accusations from Nigerian authorities for illegally transferring about $14 billion out of Nigeria over a period of about 10 years. According to reports, MTN is accused of repatriating $14 billion outside Nigeria without getting the right Capital Importation documentation.
The Senate has taken this up, with the Senate President quoted as saying the amount of money repatriated “would have saved Nigeria from recession”.
Here are some of their comments as tracked on twitter;
This whooping amount of money illegally repatriated by @MTNNG is all enough to pull the country out of recession. @MBuhari @bukolasaraki
— Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim (@rafiuibrahim) October 20, 2016
No ill feelings. But it's incumbent upon us to ensure that such diabolical breach of constitutional process is brought to book. #MTNforex
— Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim (@rafiuibrahim) October 20, 2016
Whilst some of these accusations seem harsh on MTN and may fizzle out through lobbying and negotiations, investors are having none of it. The Share price has taken a pounding in the past month dropping to a six year low of about R107.5, the lowest since July 2010.
MTN share price is currently down 19% year to date
Source: Bloomberg
MTN has announced plans to list in Nigeria making it potentially the most capitalized stock in Nigeria. Earlier in the year the company agreed with the Nigerian Government to pay fine of about N330 billion for SIM card registration breaches.
See some of their comments below;
