The Senate yesterday began probing MTN Nigeria over allegation by Senator Dino Melaye that the telecommunication giant illegally repatriated $13.9bn from Nigeria to other countries between 2006 and the present.
The Senator representing Kogi-West Senatorial District moved a motion based on the ‘Unscrupulous Violation of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous) Act’, alleging that MTN illegally repatriated the amount out of the country through its bankers.
The colluding banks, according to him, are Stanbic IBTC, which allegedly helped the firm to transfer $4.87bn; Standard Chartered Bank, $5.72bn; Citi Bank, $2.98bn; and Diamond Bank, $0.35bn.
Melaye boasted that he had documentary evidences nail MTN. He brought some of them to the floor of the chamber and promised he would make the evidences available for investigation.
He said, “The Senate observes that MTN did not request for the Certificate of Capital Importation from its bankers, Standard Chartered Bank, within the regulatory period of 24 hours of the inflow. The Senate observes also that the CBN was not notified of this inflow by Standard Chartered Bank within 48 hours of receipt and conversion of the proceeds to naira as required by regulation.
“It further observes that the sum of $117,683,987bn was also brought in by MTN between 2001 and 2003 in three different tranches. It is concerned that since inception, MTN had sought the collaboration of influential and unpatriotic Nigerians to assist them in looting our external reserves.”
Melaye said the Nigerians included a serving minister, who he accused of helping MTN move $13.92bn out of Nigeria, 50 per cent of the country’s external reserves, to floated and incorporated offshore Special Purpose Vehicles in the Cayman Island, Mauritius and British Virgin Island.
He gave the names of the SPVs, their promoters/shareholders and their share loan between MTN South Africa as: Cel Telephone Investment Limited, Port Louis, Mauritius; Dr. Pascal Dozie and Dr. Okechuckwu Elenemah; $20,749,532; Celtel funded shares SPV (which was renamed NISPV Limited in 2008), Port Louis, Mauritius; Dr. Pascal Dozie, Ahmed Dasuki, Gbenga Oyebode, Babatunde Folawiyo and Dr. Okechukwu Elenemah, $2,019,232.
Others are Mobile Communication Investment Limited, Port Louis, Mauritius; Mohammed Sanni Bello; $3,862,985; Mobile Communication Holdings, Port Louis, Mauritius; Mohammed Sanni Bello; $3,454,102; Hermitage Overseas Corporation Limited; Victor Odili; $10,273,986; SASPV Limited and Ahmed Dasuki, $10,058,991.
NCell Limited, Geneva Water Front Drive, British Virgin Island; Gbenga Oyebode, $4,512,593; Universal Communication Limited, Barkly House, George Town, Cayman Island; and Babatunde Folawiyo, $5,534,941 complete the list.
The President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, observed that the allegations are serious and needed thorough investigation as the issues could not be ignored.
The matter was then refered to the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, mandated by the senators to carry out “a holistic investigation” and report back to the Senate within two weeks.
CHECKPOINTCHARLEY 