Nigeria cuts down on 5.2 bln USD fine imposed on MTN

Nigeria has reduced a 5.2 billion U.S dollars fine imposed on Africa's largest mobile operator MTN, the telecommunication giant said Thursday.

In a statement, the South Africa-based mobile operator said after further engagements with the authorities, the Nigerian Communications Commission has reduced the fine slammed on them for not cutting off unregistered users.

The fine of 5.2 billion U.S dollars was imposed by Nigerian authorities who had asked MTN to disconnect 5.1 million MTN Nigeria subscribers in August and September for not completing their SIM cards registration with the company.

The fine which has been cut down to 3.4 billion USD must be paid to Nigeria before Dec. 31, the statement said.

The initial fine was imposed in October, after Nigerian authorities had expressed desire to have all SIM card users registered for proper verification.

All phone companies operating in the West African country were asked to verify the identity of their customers to make it easier for security agencies to track down mobile phone users with criminal records.

MTN has up to 231 million subscribers in 22 countries across Africa, with Nigerian being its biggest market. Endit