MTN has refuted claims that it illegally moved $13.92 billion out of Nigeria, slamming the allegations as “unfounded and without any merit”.
The South African operator’s denial was made in response to the Nigerian parliament’s confirmation that it would investigate reports that MTN had improperly repatriated money from Nigeria over a 10 year period. To this end, the operator is alleged to have colluded with several commercial banks.
MTN CEO Ferdi Moolman stated: “The allegations made against MTN are completely unfounded and without any merit.”
Nigeria is proving to be a market fraught with scandal for MTN, with the firm recently agreeing to pay a $1.67 billion fine to the regulator NCC after a lengthy dispute relating to security regulation. The operator was originally issued a fine for $5.2 billion for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM cards, which was enough for it to threaten an exit from the market.
