MTN pays N165bn of the N330bn fine, NCC says

The Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC] said MTN Nigeria
has so far paid N165billion out of the N330bn fine slammed on it
for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.

NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman Prof Umar Garba Danbatta disclosed
this on Monday in Abuja when the MTN Group led by its chairman in
Nigeria Dr Pascal Dozie paid a courtesy visit to the commission
headquarters.

Prof Danbatta said MTN had paid more than 50 percent of the
whole fine as it made latest payment of N55bn in March.

“I am happy to inform you that our agreement with MTN on how and
when to pay the fine has been adhered to. Just last month, March,
we received a cheque of N55billion from MTN as part of the fine
payment plan. This bringing the total fine paid by MTN Nigeria to
N165billion, that is, more than half of the fine had been paid so
far’’, he said.

He said MTN had reached an amicable agreement with the
commission to make the payment in three years, adding ‘’we call it
amicable settlement agreement on which basis they will be paying
N330bn over period of three years.’’

He said by the terms of agreement, the money would be made in
six tranches over the three year period.

Daily Trust reports that the breakdown for the payment according
to the agreement made in 2016 is that N30 billion would be paid
into NCC’s treasury single account (TSA) with the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) 30 days from June 10, 2016.

Other dates and amounts of the agreement were: March 31, 2017
(N30Billion), March 31, 2018 (N55billion), December 31, 2018
(N55Billion), March 31, 2019 (N55Billion) and May 31, 2019
(N55Billion).

MTN Nigeria was originally fined $5.2 billion in 2015 for
failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM
cards, but the fine was reduced in a settlement that paved the way
for MTN to list its subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

MTN, which operates in 20 countries, had set aside $600 million
to pay the fine.

Two months after making the first payment from the fine, MTN
Group declared its first full-year loss, blaming it on the
fine.

Negotiations on payment of the fine lasted eight months, which
saw both parties going in and out of the courts.

Earlier in his address during the visit, the chairman of MTN
Nigeria, Dr Pascal Dozie, appealed to NCC to auction more spectrums
to further open up the ICT space and improve the country’s
economy.

The Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC] said MTN Nigeria
has so far paid N165billion out of the N330bn fine slammed on it
for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.

NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman Prof Umar Garba Danbatta disclosed
this on Monday in Abuja when the MTN Group led by its chairman in
Nigeria Dr Pascal Dozie paid a courtesy visit to the commission
headquarters.

Prof Danbatta said MTN had paid more than 50 percent of the
whole fine as it made latest payment of N55bn in March.

“I am happy to inform you that our agreement with MTN on how and
when to pay the fine has been adhered to. Just last month, March,
we received a cheque of N55billion from MTN as part of the fine
payment plan. This bringing the total fine paid by MTN Nigeria to
N165billion, that is, more than half of the fine had been paid so
far’’, he said.

He said MTN had reached an amicable agreement with the
commission to make the payment in three years, adding ‘’we call it
amicable settlement agreement on which basis they will be paying
N330bn over period of three years.’’

He said by the terms of agreement, the money would be made in
six tranches over the three year period.

Daily Trust reports that the breakdown for the payment according
to the agreement made in 2016 is that N30 billion would be paid
into NCC’s treasury single account (TSA) with the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) 30 days from June 10, 2016.

Other dates and amounts of the agreement were: March 31, 2017
(N30Billion), March 31, 2018 (N55billion), December 31, 2018
(N55Billion), March 31, 2019 (N55Billion) and May 31, 2019
(N55Billion).

MTN Nigeria was originally fined $5.2 billion in 2015 for
failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM
cards, but the fine was reduced in a settlement that paved the way
for MTN to list its subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

MTN, which operates in 20 countries, had set aside $600 million
to pay the fine.

Two months after making the first payment from the fine, MTN
Group declared its first full-year loss, blaming it on the
fine.

Negotiations on payment of the fine lasted eight months, which
saw both parties going in and out of the courts.

Earlier in his address during the visit, the chairman of MTN
Nigeria, Dr Pascal Dozie, appealed to NCC to auction more spectrums
to further open up the ICT space and improve the country’s
economy.