Nigeria central bank orders four banks to refund $8.1bn MTN sent abroad
Abuja — Nigeria’s central bank has ordered four banks to refund $8.134bn that MTN illegally sent out of the country in breach of foreign exchange regulations, the central bank said on Wednesday. The Central Bank of Nigeria has also fined the banks, it said on its official Twitter account, although the fines are small compared to the demanded refund. Standard Chartered was fined 2.4-billion naira ($7.86m), Stanbic IBTC Bank 1.8-billion naira, Citibank 1.2-billion naira and Diamond Bank 250-million naira. The Nigerian telecommunications regulator, Citibank, Standard Chartered and Diamond Bank were not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for MTN declined to comment, while a Stanbic IBTC spokesman said a statement would be issued shortly. Last November, Nigeria’s Senate approved a report largely exonerating MTN, following an investigation after the business was accused of illegally repatriating $14bn to its parent company. At the time, the Senate also asked Nigeria’s central ...
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