Johannesburg - MTN’s executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko was in Nigeria as the deadline to pay a $5.2 billion fine nears.
This is according to a Reuters report, which cited a source with knowledge of the matter.
Nhleko became executive chairman earlier this week after CEO Sifiso Dabengwa quit over the fine, which has weighed heavily on MTN’s shares, seeing them lose about a quarter of their value since the fine was announced towards the end of October.
MTN is being fined for failing to cut off around 5 million subscribers for which it did not have details. Nigeria is trying to cut down on crimes committed via cellphones and has imposed a law similar to SA’s RICA.
Some analysts have described the fine as “crazy” and noted it amounts to 2.5 years’ worth of MTN profits.
The amount is due on Monday.
Nhleko said earlier this week that he would proactively deal with the Nigerian regulator and will continue to work with them in addressing the issues around unregistered subscribers as a matter of urgency.
Nhleko served as non-executive director and chairman of MTN from July 2001 until June 2002 and thereafter as an executive director, group president and CEO until March 2011. He has chaired the group in a non-executive capacity for the past two-and-a-half years.
Dabengwa , who was born in Zimbabwe, had been CEO of the group since 2011.
MTN, which launched in 1994, has 233 million subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Nigeria is its largest operation.
IOL