SAN FRANCISCO, October 26, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has fined MTN Nigeria a record N1.4 trillion naira (Yes, N1.4trn) over alleged breach of SIM registration rules.
MTN Nigeria, which has the largest subscriber base in the country, is owned by South Africa’s MTN Group.
According to technology Times which broke the story, citing people conversant with the development at the NCC headquarters in Abuja, MTN is accused of allegedly undermining efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle security challenges and the war on terror as well as allied crimes, following its alleged refusal to comply with a directive to deactivate unregistered mobile phone lines on its network.
THEWILL checks at MTN confirmed that the mobile phone company has received a letter from the regulator confirming the fine.
Nigeria is presently facing serious security threats from the Boko Haram, a terrorists group with mostly operations in northern Nigeria, and kidnappers who most make ransom demands using anonymous cell phones.
MTN Notifies Shareholders Of Record Fine
Telecommunications group MTN has confirmed to shareholders that its Nigerian subsidiary has been fined N1.4trn that is about US$5.2 billion (R71 billion).
The confirmation sent MTN’s share price down 12.49% on Monday, closing at R167.
“Shareholders are advised that the NCC has imposed a fine equivalent to $5,2bn on MTN Nigeria. This fine relates to the timing of the disconnection of 5.1 million MTN Nigeria subscribers who were disconnected in August and September 2015 and is based on a fine of 200 000 naira for each unregistered subscriber,” MTN said in a statement to shareholders on Monday.
“MTN Nigeria is currently in discussions with the NCC to resolve the matter in recognition of the circumstances that prevailed with regard to these subscribers. We will continue to update shareholders in this regard,” it said.
