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Tag: Fine

  • Reps clear coast for talks on MTN’s $3.5b fine

    Reps clear coast for talks on MTN’s $3.5b fine

    • Operator: we ‘ll prevent repeat

    The House of Representatives yesterday said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) can resume talks with MTN Group over the $3.9 billion fine imposed on it while the lawmakers continue an investigation into the penalty.

    In October last year, NCC fined the telco. The chairman, House Communications Committee, Saheed Fijabi said the NCC should lead the negotiations. The lawmakers will complete their probe and release something “very soon,” he said.

    “At the discretion of the President, if they (NCC) feel they want to negotiate, they should continue negotiating; we will continue with our own investigation. We don’t want to rush into any conclusion for now because of the sensitivity of the case,” Fijabi said by phone.

    The NCC is reluctant to revive talks without knowing the outcome of the probe. The regulator is waiting for “official communication” from the House of Representatives regarding the outcome of the investigation before it can reopen talks, NCC spokesman Tony Ojobo said by phone. “We wouldn’t want to go ahead and conclude and then their report is saying something totally different.”

    Meanwhile, MTN Group Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, has assured shareholders that steps were being taken to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that led to it being fined $3.9 billion by the NCC.

    “We are going to beef up regulatory compliance; we could have done things differently,” Nhleko said.

  • N1.4 tr fine: MTN proposes N300b settlement deal

    The Senate Committee on Communications yesterday took exception to the way and manner the out-of-court settlement arrangement between the Federal Government and MTN is being conducted regarding the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on MTN.

    The committee also frowned at the alleged shutting out of the Ministry of Communications Technology and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) from the deal.

    The committee which conducted investigative hearing on the matter, expressed shock that an account in the name of “recovery account” was opened for the N50 billion fine paid by MTN as part of the settlement.

    Committee Chairman, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, noted that members of his committee were worried that a proposal initiated by the MTN for the reduction of the fine to N300 billion had been accepted by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, without recourse to the Ministry of Justice and the NCC.

    The committee said it has emerged that an initial 25 per cent reduction of the initial N1.04 trillion fine to N780 billion was on the order of the President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The committee brandished a document which showed the proposal by MTN indicating to pay N300 billion made up of N150 billion instalmental payment.

    The document further indicated that the N50 billion already paid by MTN is part of the settlement deal.

    It said parties have agreed that the N50 billion paid in good faith and without prejudice by MTN Nigeria on the 24th of February, 2016, in order to commence settlement negotiations will form part of the monetary components of the settlement in five equal and annual instalments between the date of execution of this agreement and 31 December, 2020.

    It said MTN Nigeria shall pay a total of N100 billion by electronic funds transfer to the Federal Recovery Account of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The payment, it said, will commence by 31 December, this year and will be made by 31 December of each subsequent year”

    The proposal also stated that the MTN would buy N80 billion worth of Nigeria’s foreign bond.

    The proposal which the committee said it got from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation was admitted by MTN.

    Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, who defended himself on allegation of opening the recovery account, told the committee that he acted on the demand of the Attorney-General.

    Idris insisted that he was not aware of what money was going to be lodged into the account.

    A representative of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr, Dayo Akpata, who labored to convince the committee about the necessity of opening the account was rebuffed.

    The committee insisted that the Attorney-General must appear in person before it within two weeks to explain the action.

  • MTN must pay fine in full, Reps insist

    The House of Representatives has insisted that Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) service provider, MTN Nigeria must pay the N780billion fine slammed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission  (NCC).

    This is as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation  (AGF), Abubakar Malami and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari have been invited to appear before the House next week to explain and justify their roles in the negotiation process.

    It was disclosed yesterday that MTN had, in its proposal for settlement of the face-off with the NCC  planned to pay N300billion only out of the N1.04 trillion that was later reduced to N780billion.

    It proposed to pay N50billion it described as ‘goodwill offer’ and another N100billion in cash while the balance  would be paid with complementary services (in kind).

    The service provider also proposed to be listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as part of the settlement negotiation.

    The lawmakers said since it was an incontrovertible fact that MTN was found culpable of breaching Sections 19 and 20 of the NCC Act, it was not position to dictate the terms of negotiation as it is currently doing.

    While condemning the exclusion of the National Assembly from the negotiation of the fine by the Federal Government, the lawmakers regretted that NCC was also relegated to the background in the exercise.

    MTN was penalised by the regulatory body for failing to deactivate 5.2 million improperly registered subscriber identity module (SIM) cards within a stipulated period stipulated by the NCC.

    At the resumed investigative hearing by House Committee on Communications, NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Dambatta said the position of the Commission was that MTN must pay the fine of N780b in full, even if in installmemts and not as it proposed.

  • MTN must pay fine in full, Reps insist

    MTN must pay fine in full, Reps insist

    The House of Representatives is insisting that Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) service provider, MTN Nigeria must pay the N780b fine slammed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    This is as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari have been invited to appear before the House next week to explain and justify their roles in the negotiation process.

    It was disclosed Wednesday that MTN had, in its proposal for settlement of the face-off with the Federal government planned to pay N300b only out of the N1.04 trillion that was later reduced to N780b.

    It proposed to pay N50b it described as ‘goodwill offer’ and another N100b in cash while the balance would be paid with complementary services (in kind).

    The service provider also proposed to be listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as part of the settlement negotiation.

    The lawmakers said since it was an incontrovertible fact that MTN was found culpable of breaching Sections 19 and 20 of the NCC Act, it was in no position to dictate the terms of negotiation at it is currently doing.

    While condemning the exclusion of the National Assembly from the negotiation of the fine by the Federal government, the lawmakers regretted that NCC was also relegated to the background in the exercise.

    MTN was penalized by the regulatory body for failing to deactivate 5.2 million improperly registered SIM cards within a stipulated period which led to it being slammed with the administrative fines of N1.04 trillion

    At the resumed investigative hearing by House Committee on Communications, NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Dambatta said the position of the Commission was that MTN must pay the fine of N780b in full, even if in installmemts and not as it proposed.

    The lawmakers condemned the arrogant disposition of the service provider that having breached the Nigerian laws, it was in no position to dictate the terms of negotiation.

    The Saheed Fijabi-led Committee was at a loss why NCC was relegated to the background in the negotiation that was alegedly taken over by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abdullahi Malami and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

    Saying that the time of impunity is over, Chairman of the Committee, Fijabi said, “We believe that NCC has not been allowed to take charge of the negotiation because it has been reduced to the background.

    “NCC did the fines, it should be allowed to take charge but that is not the case here, someone is even doing the reduction without your (NCC) input.

    “At the court, wasn’t the case between MTN and NCC? So, NCC ought to take the lead while others can provide support and advise.

    “It is not a hidden fact that MTN is fond of finding ways to circumvent our laws. MTN must pay because we all remember the Gulf of Mexico spill and how those found culpable paid fully for it.

    “It is even insulting that MTN is using listing on the Stock exchange as part of the negotiation. We must state it clearly that MTN is in no position to dictate the terms of negotiation in this case.”

     

  • MTN sets aside $600m for ‘fine’ as profits dip

    MTN sets aside $600m for ‘fine’ as profits dip

    • Mulls Nigeria listing
    • To cut dividend

    South Africa’s MTN Group yesterday released its result for last year, posting huge decline in its profits and setting aside 9.3 billion rand ($600 million) to cover the potential settlement of the outstanding  N730 billion of the N780billion fine imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) over subscriber identity module (SIM) card registration rule breaches. The telco had last week, made a down payment of N50 billion in “good faith” to the Federal Government.

    Its Group Executive Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko yesterday also said the telco may cross-list its shares on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) once its dispute with its regulator in the country is settled.

    Though full details of the result were kept under wraps, the telco was said to have posted a more than 50 per cent dip in its annual profit.

    Weighed down heavily by economic realities in Nigeria, its cash cow, the telco said it would cut its full-year dividend to a minimum of 7 rand this year due to uncertainty surrounding the payment of the fine and the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that has led to “dollar scarcity.”

    It however said while weak economic conditions and heightened regulatory pressure impacted performance, it continues to invest in Nigeria for the long term

    In a statement, the carrier lamented that the Nigerian operation in particular experienced a very challenging year. Weak economic conditions and the limited availability of dollars contributed to a lower-than-expected performance. Heightened regulatory pressure also severely impacted  its operation in the country. This was particularly evident in the suspension of regulatory services and the subscriber registration requirements, which meant that MTN had to disconnect 6.7 million subscribers. MTN Nigeria is working hard to complete the registration process in line with the NCC’s requirements.

  • NCC confirms MTN payment of N50b

    The Nigerian Communications Commission on Monday confirmed Federal Government’s receipt of the N50 billion from MTN Nigeria Communications Limited towards settlement of the fine imposed on the telecommunications firm.

    The commission also confirmed that MTN has withdrawn its suit from the court.

    A statement signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said the commission received official information on the two developments from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice respectively on Monday.

    The statement reads; “The amount is an unconditional good faith payment, on the basis that this sum would be applied towards eventual settlement agreement for payment of the fine imposed by the commission.

    “The Federal Government’s team for the negotiations is being led by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), while MTN team is led by former U.S Attorney General, and Head of Covington & Burling LLP, Washington DC, Mr. Eric H. Holder, Jr.

    “The receipt of the amount and withdrawal of the suit is without prejudice to the final decision of government on the terms of payment being proposed by the company.

    “On the basis of out of court settlement, the Federal Government team, is expected to deliberate on the merits and demerits of the terms of payment of the fine imposed on MTN by the commission for its failure to deactivate invalid SIM Cards as directed by the commission, thereby contravening the provisions of the regulation on SIM Card Registration.”

  • South Africa’s MTN expects ‘reasonable’ Nigerian fine — Sources

    South Africa’s MTN expects ‘reasonable’ Nigerian fine — Sources

    South African telecoms firm MTN Group could end up paying a “reasonable” amount following talks with Nigerian officials over a disputed $3.9 billion fine for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM card users, two sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.

    A court in Lagos last month gave both parties until March 18 to reach a settlement, after MTN in December had asked the court to arbitrate over the dispute, saying the Nigerian Communications Commission had no legal grounds to order the fine.

    The telecoms firm was initially handed a $5.2 billion penalty in October, prompting weeks of lobbying that led to a 25 percent reduction by the NCC.

    At the time an NCC source said its decision was based on advice from Department of State Security (DSS) which suspected unregistered SIM cards were being used for criminal activity.

    It had originally asked MTN to disconnect between 10 and 18.6 million users but MTN told the regulator it had 5.2 million unregistered users on its network, the source said.

    The original amount was based on fining the company $1,000 for every unregistered SIM card in use.

    MTN has said the revised fine of $3.9 billion is still too high, equating to more than twice MTN’s annual average capital expenditure over the past five years.

    Sources said yesterday that talks were bearing fruit.

    “There’s growing understanding within the NCC that the fine should be commercially reasonable,” a source close to the matter said.

    Another source said a further reduction from $3.9 billion was a “possibility” because “the tone of the NCC is not combative any more.”

    MTN’s spokesman Chris Maroleng said his company, which makes 37 percent of its sales in Nigeria, expected the talks with the NCC to lead to an “amicable resolution.”

    MTN has hired former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, who was one of President Barack Obama’s longest-serving cabinet members, to help with the matter.

    “There remains some uncertainty as to the final quantum (amount) of the Nigerian fine, should-an-out of court settlement be reached,” MTN said in trading statement that warned of a drop in full-year profits on Thursday.

    MTN’s regulatory and operational uncertainties in Nigeria sent shares in the company plummeting.

    By 1321 GMT, shares in the company had fallen 18.8 percent to 124.80 rand, on course for its biggest daily percentage decline in 18 years.

    The company said on Thursday its profit last year fell by at least 20 percent due to an underperformance in Nigeria, triggering a selling frenzy in its share price. MTN said the profit warning did not include the penalty.

    Nigeria has been trying to halt the widespread use of unregistered SIM cards amid worries they are being used for criminal activity, including by the Islamist group Boko Haram.

  • Court slams N10m fine on Ibinabo

    Court slams N10m fine on Ibinabo

    Few weeks after being ordered by the Lagos State Court of Appeal to appear for judgment in the appeal challenging the five-year prison sentence handed out to her in 2009, Nollywood actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima, is in the web of the law again.

    In a separate case filed by a former Miss Earth Nigeria, Miss Munachi Chinenye Uzoma, challenging Fiberesima and AMC Productions Ltd for a breach of contract signed on October 28, 2011, a Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt, on Friday slammed the defendants with a fine of N10 million having upheld claims by the plaintiff.

    The case against the actress and AMC Productions Ltd was filed on August 29, 2012, by the L.O Ndatigh chambers, and has its defendant as O.C Higher King Esq.

    “At last justice has been done,” Uzoma who said she was cheated by the defendants said, after the rulling.

    Recall that on Thursday, January 28, 2016, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos had reserved judgment in the appeal filed by Nollywood actress Ibinabo Fiberesima challenging the judgment of a Lagos High Court which sentenced her to five years imprisonment for the death of one Dr Giwa Suraj.

    The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command had in 2005 charged the ex-beauty queen to the magistrate court on a two-count charge of dangerous and reckless driving along Epe Expressway, Lagos which resulted to the death of Dr  Suraj.

  • N1.04tr fine: NCC faults MTN’s suit

    N1.04tr fine: NCC faults MTN’s suit

    … Commission urges court to decline jurisdiction

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has faulted the competence of the suit filed by MTN Nigeria Communications‎ Limited challenging the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on it (MTN) for allegedly breaching NCC’s statutory and regulatory directives.

    MTN had sued NCC before the Federal High Court, Lagos and sought to void NCC’s decision to penalize it for failing to among others, register about 5.2 million subscribers within a given deadline.

    NCC, in a motion on notice, prepared on its behalf by a group of lawyers including Ahmed Raji (SAN) and Mahmud Magaji (SAN), queried the competence of the suit, the court’s jurisdiction to hear it and argued that MTN failed to ensure proper service of court documents on its.

    It is the NCC’s contention that the suit was wrongly instituted in the Lagos division of the Federal High Court and that MTN, in serving to court processes on it, failed to comply with the provision of section 143 of the NCC Act which stipulates that all court processes are to be served at the principal office of NCC.

    NCC argued that  it was not only wrong  for MTN to have served court processes in relation to the suit on its Lagos office, the telecommunication company initiated the suit at the wrong venue by going before the Federal High Court, Lagos, which lacked the territorial jurisdiction to determine the dispute.

    It stated, in a supporting affidavit, that not only did all facts relating to the dispute occur in Abuja, both defendants in the suit – NCC and the Attorney general of the Federation (AGF) – have their principal offices in Abuja.

    NCC therefore prayed the court to set aside the purported service of all processes in the case on it. In the alternative, it wants the court to either decline jurisdiction over the case or transfer it to its Abuja division.

    MTN is, by the suit, challenging NCC’s powers of to impose fine even as a regulator.

    It is MTN’s contention that NCC, being a regulator, cannot assume all the functions of the state on its own, considering the fact that they made the regulation, prescribed the penalty and imposed the fine, payable to the commission and not the Federal Government.

    It argued that by imposing a fine on it, the commission was already usurping “the exclusive legislative powers of the National Assembly, as well as the judicial powers of the courts established under the constitution.”

    MTN stated that it was not afforded its constitutional right of fair hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction and insisted that it had not been found guilty of any offence to warrant the fine of $3.9bn imposed on it.

    It wants the court to among others,  determine whether NCC can act pursuant to Section 70 of the NCC Act to impose a fine on it in view of the provisions of sections 1 (3), 4 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution.

  • $3.4b MTN fine: Fed Govt to await court pronouncement

    $3.4b MTN fine: Fed Govt to await court pronouncement

    The Minister of Communications Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, yesterday said the Federal Government will await court pronouncement over the fine imposed by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) on MTN for subscriber identity module (SIM) card fraud.

    NCC had originally imposed N1.4trillion ($5.2billion) fine on the telco for keeping some 5.2million pre-registered SIMs on its network and refusing to deactivate them when it was directed to do so by the regulator. After a lot of appeal by the telco to the Federal Government, President Muhammadu Buhari reduced the fine to N780billion ($3.4billion) only for MTN to turn round and served the regulator court papers challenging its powers to impose the fine.

    Shittu who spoke with reporters during his visit to Omatek Ventures Plc along Kudirat Abiola Way, as part of his official visit to stakeholders in the information communications technology (ICT) sector, said President Buhari places high premium on the rule of law, adding that since all parties have subjected themselves to the supremacy of the constitution, the Federal Government will wait patiently for the court’s ruling.

    He said MTN, which has December 31 to pay the fine,  is the largest operator in the country, adding that nobody wants the downfall of the telco or any other company whether local or international in the country.

    Because the case is already in court, “it is difficult to comment on such matter. However, the ministry will await the determination of the court before any further action will be taken on the matter,” he said, adding that

    The minister said in as much as no particular telco or business organiation is being targeted by the government, he urged all business owners in the country to be mindful of the need for them to obey the laws of their host country.

    According to Shittu, a new blueprint for the industry will be unveiled in the third week of January next year, adding that the Communications Technology Ministry is not in any way trying to re-invent the wheel but will build on what is on ground and improve where necessary.

    “By January, the blueprint for ICT development in Nigeria will be unveiled. Whatever is on ground would form part of it. The change mantra is to improve on regulations in the industry”, he stressed.

    He commended Omatek CEO, Mrs Florence Seriki for her pioneering efforts in the ICT industry pledging to ensure that indigenous players are given the requisite encouragement and support.