MTN
has made a payment of N30 billion ($98 million) to the Nigerian
government in part settlement of a N330 billion fine imposed on the
telecoms group for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards, an MTN
source told Reuters on Thursday.Africa’s largest telecoms company has already paid 80 billion naira of the total amount owed, the source said.The fine is due for payment in six instalments over three years, MTN has said.MTN Nigeria was originally fined $5.2 billion last October for
failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards, but
the fine was reduced in a settlement that paved the way for MTN to list
its subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.Nigeria has been cracking down on unregistered SIM cards, concerned
that they are used for criminal activity in a country fighting an
insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.MTN, which operates in 20 countries, had set aside $600 million last year to pay the fine.
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