Johannesburg - MTN Rwanda announced on Wednesday that it has received official notification of a US $8,5 million fine from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) for non-compliance with licensing obligations.
The fine relates to non-compliance with the directives issued by the regulator prohibiting the inclusion of MTN Rwanda in the MTN South and East Africa (SEA) IT hub based in Uganda.
RURA said MTN breached licensing obligations by hosting its IT services outside the country, in contravention of Enforcement Notice and Directives issued by the regulator.
By doing so, RURA said MTN Rwanda breached its license obligation requiring it to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and any other regulatory instruments issued by the competent authority.
RURA said its regulatory board conducted a hearing session earlier this month and MTN Rwanda admitted the breach.
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n a statement on Wednesday, MTN - Rwanda's biggest telecom by subscription - said it was engaging with regulatory authorities in that country to resolve the matter.
"MTN has been engaging with the regulator on this matter over the past four months.
MTN Rwanda is currently studying the official notification and will continue to engage with the regulator on this matter," MTN said in a statement.
Last year, MTN Nigeria agreed to a reduced $1.67-billion settlement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) after being fined $5.2-billion for failing to register 5.1 million SIM cards.