N330bn fine: NCC gives MTN deadline

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has till Friday, May 31, 2019, to pay the last tranche of it N330 billion sim registration fine. The remaining balance is N55 billion.

According to a statement made available to newsmen, the regulator disclosed that MTN has so far paid a total of N275 billion, thereby leaving a balance of N55 billion which must be paid by the end of May.

Meanwhile, MTN had been paying the fine in tranches. The telco began the payment structure with N30 billion paid to the Nigerian Communications Commission via the Treasury Single Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in late 2016.

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On March 31, 2017, MTN paid another N30 billion into the Treasury Single Account. The company then paid N55 billion into the TSA on March 31st, 2018. It also paid N55 billion on March 31st, 2019.

“The balance and final tranche of the payment will be paid by May 31, 2019, in line with the staggered payments structure agreed by MTN and Nigerian government.

“*It will be recalled that the NCC on October 20, 2015, imposed a fine of n1.04 trillion on mtn for infraction of the provision of the NCC telephone subscribers registration regulations 2011; for failure to disconnect 5.2 million improperly-registered subscriber identification modules (sim) lines within the prescribed deadline, because these lines had economic activities on them without proper registration.”

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc remains the leader in the Nigerian telecoms industry. As of February 2019, the company recorded the highest number of mobile internet subscribers. The company’s subscriber base increased by 41% to 46.5 million.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc’s stock is currently trading at N131.70 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), a major jump compared to its N90 listing price just last week. The stock has been on a bull run ever since its listing.