Shares in MTN Group plunged as much as 19 percent on Thursday, a day after Nigeria ordered the South African telecoms group and its bankers to return $8.1 billion.
Nigeria’s central bank said the funds had been illegally moved abroad because the company’s bankers, who include Standard Bank’s Nigeria unit Stanbic, had failed to verify that Africa’s biggest telecoms company had met all the foreign exchange regulations.
At 0713 GMT, the stock was down 14 percent at 92.12 rand, recouping some losses after falling to a low of 86.99 rand.
MTN denied the allegations.
“No dividends have been declared or paid by MTN Nigeria other than pursuant to certificates of capital importation issued by our bankers and with the approval of the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) as required by law,” MTN said in a statement.
The allegation is the latest setback for MTN in Nigeria, its most lucrative but increasingly most problematic market, coming two years after it agreed to pay $1 billion to end a long running dispute over unregistered SIM cards.
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