$8.1bn row: MTN in discussion with Nigerian officials

Telecoms firm MTN says it is in discussions with Nigerian officials to find a “mutually acceptable solution” to a dispute over the alleged transfer of $8.1 billion. MTN made this known in a statement in Johannesburg. MTN said that further announcement on the issue would be made in due course. “Shareholders are advised to continue to exercise caution when dealing in the company’s securities until a further announcement is made,” the statement said.

MTN and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are in a dispute over the transfer of $8.1 billion which the Nigerian apex bank said the company had sent abroad in breaches of Nigerian’s foreign-exchange regulations. But Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN said, while addressing reporters on October 7 in London that the CBN was looking into the matter. Emefiele said that new documents provided by the telecom company would help to determine the size of the claim.