We're unaware of $250m payment by telecom operator, FG says

dimeji akinloye

February 24, 2016 6:55 PM

After its effort to stop the payment, MTN is believed to have made the payment as a move to settle the case out of court with the Commission.

A customer leaves an MTN shop in Johannesburg April 10, 2012. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Following the N1.04 trillion fine regulatory body,

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, said he not aware of any of such payment, saying the amount announced is not the fine expected from the company by the way.

‘‘That has not been confirmed and I can confirm to you that the situation is still being studied. To the best of my knowledge, the amount announced is not the fine they are expected to pay. Federal Government is still studying it.

‘‘They decided to go to court and never wanted an amicable settlement. If they now want settlement, there has to be an official statement on that soon,’’ he said.

Pulse reported today, February 24, that MTN Nigeria had come to terms with the imposed fine and paid the sum of $250 million to the federal Government as part of the N1.04 trillion fine by the NCC.

It would be recalled that in October 2015, the NCC imposed a fine of N1.04 trillion on MTN for failing to deactivate over 500,000 unregistered subscribers after series of warning issued by the regulator.

The fine was originally $5.2 billion but reduce by 25 percent ($3.9 billion) following series of lobbying by MTN.

Inspite that, the telecoms company dragged NCC to court to challenge the huge fine imposed on it, hiring former U.S. law enforcement officer, Eric Holder, to handle the case. But all efforts to stop the fine failed.

In January, the presiding judge have given the company and the Commission to settle out of court.

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dimeji akinloye