AGF Withdraws $2bn Tax Demand From MTN

South African telecommunication company MTN on Friday, January 10, 2020, announced that Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami, had withdrawn the $2 billion back tax demand placed on the company.

In a statement, the company said the letter from AGF confirmed the referral of the matter to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigeria Customs Service with a view to resolving the issue.

“We appreciate this decision of the Attorney General, which paves the way to an orderly and amicable resolution of this matter,” MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter said in a statement.

MTN is a South African telecommunication company that began operation in Nigeria in 2001, and it is one of the country’s largest operators with millions of subscribers.

Last year, the company settled a $1.5 billion fine levelled by the authorities for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers.

Subsequently, In 2018, the company paid a $53 million fine over an allegation of illegally repatriating $8.13 billion to South Africa.

The dispute with MTN has floated the company's integrity on the stock exchange market and has tarnished the diplomatic relationship between continental powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa.