MTN Nigeria has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to further adjourn the hearing in the suit to enable it enter into negotiations with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the $8.1 billion fine imposed on it for alleged monetary policy regulatory infractions.
The telecom operator’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), told the court on Tuesday that his client had approached the CBN for possible amicable resolution of the dispute.
He therefore urged Justice Saliu Saidu to adjourn the suit to enable the parties to fully explore out-of-court resolution and deliberate on the terms of the settlement.
The CBN’s lead counsel , Mr Seyi Sowemimo (SAN), confirmed that the discussions for possible out-of-court settlement were in the advanced stage.
Having listened to the two counsels, Justice Saidu adjourned the suit to December 12, 2018, for a report of the settlement between the parties.
It would be recalled that the telecom operator had filed the suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1475/2018, in November, urging the court to declare that the CBN acted ultra vires its statutory powers when it wrote an August 28, 2018 letter to it demanding a refund of $8.1 billion.
It urged the court to hold that the CBN’s $8.1bn demand was “illegal, oppressive, abusive, unauthorised and unconstitutional.
The telco also urged the court to declare that that “the 1st defendant’s decision in its letter of August 28, 2018 with Ref No GBD/GOV/COM/DGF/118/121 addressed to the plaintiff and titled, ‘Investigation into the remittance of foreign exchange on the basis of the illegal capital importation certificates issued to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited’ were reached in breach of the plaintiff’s right to fair hearing.”
It also urged the court to void a September 3, 2018 letter written to it by the 2nd defendant, the Attorney General of the Federation, demanding $8.1bn as “penalties for the offence of ‘infraction of forex remittances.”
The telecom operator also sought a court order “restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants from giving effect to the decisions, demands, and directives in their letters of August 28, 2018, and September 3, 2018, respectively.”
The CBN, in its statement of defence and counter-claim, urged the court to dismiss MTN’s suit, insisting that the telecom operator must refund $8.1 billion to the Federal Government.
The dispute over the imposed fine of $8.1 billion was triggered by the CBN’s allegation that MTN used improperly issued certificates to transfer funds out of Nigeria after it converted shareholder loans in its Nigerian unit to preference shares in 2007.
The apex bank alleged further that the telecom operator’s banks failed to verify that the telecom group had met all the country’s foreign exchange regulations.
However, the telecom operator denied the allegations.
