The fine imposed on MTN Nigeria over unregistered SIM cards has gone up again, after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) mistakenly put the wrong number in a letter to the telco.
MTN said it received a second letter on Friday from the NCC saying it owed 780 billion naira (US$3.9 billion), whereas a day earlier it had been told in a separate letter that it owed NGN674 billion ($3.4 billion). The due date remains the 31 December 2015.
"The company is carefully considering both the first letter and the second letter, and the executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko will immediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerian Authorities," said MTN, in a statement on Friday.
It did not give any reason for the issuance of the second letter. However, the NCC said in a report by Bloomberg, that it made a typo in its first letter.
"Neither the first letter nor the second letter sets out any details on how the reduction was determined," MTN said.
The $3.9 billion fine is still considerably lower than the $5.2 billion fine originally imposed on MTN Nigeria for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM cards in accordance with the NCC’s timeline.
The fine prompted the resignations of MTN group CEO Sifiso Dabengwa. MTN Nigeria CEO Michael Ikpoki, and its head of regulatory and corporate affairs Akinwale Goodluck have also stepped down.
MTN has also begun a management restructuring in a bid to improve operational oversight.
