Contrary to speculations that MTN carried out the transfer of $13.9 billion without due process, the telecoms giant said yesterday that it complied with Nigerian fund transfer rules and did not send money out of the country until it obtained regulatory approvals, denying allegations that it illegally repatriated $14 billion.
In a statement, the group said it always requested “certificates of capital importation (CCI)” for capital brought into Nigeria and dividends were repatriated based on those investments, Ferdi Moolman, chief executive of MTN Nigeria.
“MTN Nigeria only requested for CCIs for foreign capital that was imported into Nigeria, and dividends were externalised on CCIs,” he said.
The Senate had last month agreed to investigate whether Africa’s biggest telecoms company unlawfully repatriated $13.92 billion between 2006 and 2016.
MTN’s Moolman, Mr. Okechukwu Elenemah, a serving Minister and four lenders appeared at a parliamentary hearing on the matter on Thursday.
It would be recalled that Senator Dino Melaye had proposed a motion calling for an investigation into MTN’s repatriation of funds few weeks after revealing the allegation at the floor of the red chambers.
