MTN Got Nigerian Approval to Repatriate Funds Last Year, BD Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. and four lenders may have won approval from Nigeria’s central bank to repatriate funds in a 2017 ruling, Lagos-based Business Day reported, citing a letter signed by an official at the reserve bank.

In the letter addressed to MTN Nigeria’s chief executive officer, the central bank confirms the validity of the company’s certificates of capital importation — needed to take funds out of the country — according to the newspaper. Managing directors of the local units of Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered Plc, Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s Stanbic IBTC and Diamond Bank Plc were copied in the document.

If genuine, the letter would appear to support MTN’s case that it’s not guilty of unlawfully transferring $8.1 billion out of Nigeria — as alleged by the central bank last week. The Johannesburg-based company has been ordered to repatriate the funds in return for a naira-denominated refund. The four banks that facilitated the transactions were fined a combined $16 million.

MTN shares declined 2.1 percent to 87.12 rand as of 11:12 a.m. in Johannesburg, extending the drop since the crisis erupted to 19 percent.

Source: Bloomberg Business News