How $8.1bn MTN sanction can affect foreign investment – Chukwu

Johnson Chukwu

By OBINNA EZUGWU
Managing Director and CEO of Cowry Asset Management Ltd, Mr. Jonson Chukwu, has explained to the $8.1billion fine imposed on Nigeria’s leading Telecom company, MTN, could scare away foreign investors only if it was unjustly imposed.

Chukwu who stated this in a chat with Business Hallmark, opined that investors are neither looking for where there is no penalty for infractions nor where penalties are unduly imposed, rather where there is law and order.

“If the fine is found to be unjustly imposed, it would have a negative implication on our image as a destination for foreign investors,” he said.

“But if the fine was legitimately imposed as a result of infractions or breach of the law, then I don’t think it would have any effect on foreign portfolio and direct investors.

“The key thing about investors is that they want an environment that has the rule of law. That would mean that people are not punished when they are not culpable of an offence, neither will those who infringe the law left unpunished. Investors are not looking for an environment where there are not cost and effects. The investor is looking at an environment where there is rule of law and order.

“Sanctions imposed for infractions, and when the infractions are legitimate, are never a source of worry for investors. If you cast your mind back, there was a time when there was a major oil leakage in the Golf of Mexico by Shell, the US government imposed heavy penalty on the company. It did not drive away investors from the US,” he noted.

He, however, noted that the claims and counter claims by both the companies affected by the fine and the apex bank was worrisome and called for independent investigation into the issues.

“I’m not bothered about whether investors will now be concerned. The only worry I have is that we must make sure that those sanctions were fairly imposed; that it is in line with extant law and that they were actual infringements,” he said.

“Today, MTN is saying they did not infringe on the law. The banks are also denying infringing on the law.

“I think an independent arbiter should be appointed to thoroughly investigate the claims and counter claims by the parties involved. And if it is found that infractions actually occurred, I don’t imagine that the government will shy away from imposing sanctions.”

The CBN had earlier in the week, imposed $8.1billion fine on MTN, as well as N5.65billion penalty on four commercial banks: Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Citibank and Diamond Bank for ‘violation of extant’ foreign exchange laws.

The fines which were announced on Wednesday, August 29, 2018, by CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, showed that Standard Chartered would pay N2.4billion; Stanbic IBTC N1.8billion, Citibank N1.2 billion, Diamond Bank N0.25 billion, while MTN will refund $8.1billion

The CBN said it imposed the sanctions under its regulatory purview over what it called ‘flagrant violation of extant laws and regulations of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Foreign Exchange Manual, 2006.’

Okorafor, said the actions of the apex bank became necessary in view of allegations of remittance of foreign exchange with irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and subsequent investigations carried out by the bank in March 2018.

The CBN had therefore asked the Managements of the banks and MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to immediately refund the sum of $8,134,312,397.63, illegally repatriated by the company to the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Figures obtained from the CBN on Wednesday, August 29, 2018, indicate that the highest fine of N2,470,604,767.13 was slammed on Standard Chartered Bank, while Stanbic IBTC Nigeria was fined the sum of N1,885,852,847.45. For its punishment, Citibank Nigeria was penalized in the sum of N1,265,541,562.31, just as Diamond Bank was directed to pay the sum of N250 million for violating extant rules.

The CBN Spokesman subsequently noted that the decision came after detailed investigations into the allegations of remittances by the four banks of forex with irregular certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.

Advertisement

He explained that investigations showed that the sum of $3,448,119,321.72 was repatriated by Standard Chartered Bank on the basis of the illegally issued CCIs, while the sums of $2,632,005,623.78, $1,766,263,212.75 and $348,914,501.30 were repatriated by Stanbic IBTC Nigeria, Citibank Nigeria and Diamond Bank Plc, respectively during the period 2007 and 2015. Consequently, he said the CBN had directed the affected banks to immediately refund the respective sums to the CBN.

The CBN investigation further revealed that on account of illegal conversion of MTN shareholders’ loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated by the company.

While disclosing that the investigations by the CBN took a while in order to carry out thorough inquiry and give fair hearing to all parties involved, Mr. Okorafor advised all banks and multinational companies in Nigeria to adhere strictly to the provisions of all extant laws and regulations of Nigeria in their foreign exchange transactions. He warned that failure by the management of banks and companies to abide by the existing guidelines would be appropriately sanctioned, which sanctions may include denial of access to the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

In a letter to MTN dated August 28, the CBN said it discovered, in the course of its investigation, among others, that.

i. The shareholders of your company invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2001 to 2006;

ii. The investment was carried out through the inflow of foreign currency cash transfers and equipment importation, which was evidenced by the CCIs issued by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Citi Bank (CB) and Diamond Bank (DB);

iii. The CCIs issued at the time of the investment by the above banks to your organization in respect of the $402,590,261.03 showed that $59,436,923.44 was invested as shareholders’ loan and $343,153,339.56 as equity;

iv. However, a review of your organization’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 revealed that $399,594,146.00 was recorded/invested as shareholders’ loan and $2,996,117.00 as equity investment, in accordance with the shareholder’s agreement but contrary to the CCIs issued by the banks in (iii) above;

v. Following a request by your organization through Standard Chartered Bank for CBN’s approval to convert the shareholder’s loan to preference shares, an approval-in-principle was granted vide our letter dated November 13, 2007; with the grant of final approval made subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions by your organization.

a. Implementation of the decision in item 5B of your board resolution dated November 08, 2007 and submission of documentary evidence to that effect to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and

b. Provision of an undertaking that no remittance for either interest or principal repayment would be made to the shareholders from the date of the loan to the date they were converted to preference shares.

6. In spite of the non-fulfillment of the conditions in (v) above and consequently, the non-issuance of a final approval by the CBN, your organization converted the shareholders’ loan to preference shares with Standard Charted Bank issuing new CCIs in respect of the illegal conversion;

7. The action of your banker in aiding your organisation in the illegal conversion of the shareholders’ loan was later described by SCB in a letter to the CBN dated December 10, 2009 as an “unintended omission”; and

8. On account of the illegal conversion of your shareholders’ loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated on behalf of your company by the aforementioned banks between 2007 and 2015.

In a similar letter to Standard Chartered Bank, the CBN said its investigation revealed that:

i The shareholders of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2001 to 2006;

Advertisement

ii. The investment was carried out through the inflow of foreign currency cash transfers and equipment importation, which was evidenced by the CCIs issued by your bank, Citi Bank (CB) and Diamond Bank (DB) at the initial stage of the investment.

iii. The CCIs issued at the time of investment by your bank along with the other banks in respect of the $402,590,261.03 showed that $59,436,923.44 was recorded/invested as shareholders’ loan and $343,153,339.56 as equity. This position was, however, contrary to the position in the financial statements of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited for the year ended December 31, 2007, which revealed that $399,594,146.00 was invested as shareholders’ loan and $2,996,117.00 as equity investment, in accordance with the shareholder’s agreement but contrary to the CCIs issued by your bank, Citi Bank (CB) and Diamond Bank (DB). Your action in this regard constituted a rendition of false returns to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

iv. Your bank subsequently applied to the CBN on behalf of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited for the conversion of the shareholder’s loan to preference shares, for which an approval-in-principle was granted vide our letter dated November 13, 2007 with the grant of final approval made subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions by MTNN:

a. Implementation of the decision in item 5B of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited board resolution dated November 8, 2007 and submission of documentary evidence to that effect to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and

b. Provision of an undertaking that no remittance for either interest or principal repayment would be made to the shareholders from the date of the loan to the date they were converted to preference shares.

5. In spite of the non-fulfillment of the above conditions in (iv) above and consequently, the non-issuance of a final approval by the CBN, your bank issued new CCIs in support of the illegal conversion of the shareholders’ loan to preference shares; an action that was later described by your bank in a letter to the CBN dated December 10, 2009, as an “unintended omission”; and

6. On account of the illegal conversion of the shareholders loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated by your bank and the other banks on behalf of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited between 2007 and 2015.

Other findings from our investigation included the following:

1. Your bank issued three (3) CCIs outside the regulatory 24 hours without the approval of the CBN;

2. In contravention of Memorandum 24 (ii) of the Foreign Exchange Manual, which requires that CCIs should be transferred based on customer’s instructions to a bank of the customer’s choice along with the transaction history of the CCI, you provided confirmation to two other banks, Citibank and Diamond Bank, instead of transferring the CCIs to them as required by the Foreign Exchange Manual.

The two banks on the strength of your confirmation subsequently remitted various sums as dividend for MTN Nigeria Communications Limited at different times; and

3. Your bank failed to issue a letter of indemnity to the CBN against double remittance in respect of ten CCIs transferred by Diamond Bank and Citibank to your bank as required under subsection 5(iii) of Memorandum 24 of the Foreign Exchange Manual.

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Committee of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria met with the management of your bank and the other banks as well as representatives of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in Lagos on May 25, 2018. This was to give all the parties fair hearing, towards taking an informed decision on the matter.

In another letter to Stanbic IBTC, the CBN noted that it’s investigation showed:

i. The shareholders of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2001 to 2006;

ii. The investment was carried out through the inflow of foreign currency cash transfers and equipment importation, which was evidenced by the CCIs issued by Standard Chartered Bank, Diamond Bank and Citibank, out of which eight of the CCIs totaling $377,216,508.30 were transferred to your bank by Standard Chartered Bank. Consequently, your bank repatriated the sum of $929,051,331.83 as proceeds of divestment from the CCIs valued at $42,704,408.61.

Advertisement

iii. On account of the illegal conversion of the shareholders loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated by your bank and the other banks on behalf of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited between 2007 and 2015.

Other findings from our investigation included the following:

a. Your bank falsely reported thirty five CCIs valued $313,683,925.84 inappropriately as “other purchases” in your MTR 203 returns for February 2008 instead of “capital importation”;

b. Your bank issued eight CCIs of $58,359,616.67 in respect of foreign exchange sourced locally as shareholders’ loan. This constituted a contravention of the requirement of Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995 and Memorandum 20 (1.3) (iii) of the Foreign Exchange Manual, which stipulate that CCIs should only be issued on capital imported;

c. Your bank issued eight CCIs for capital inflows in form of machinery outside the 24 hours regulatory requirement of receipt of shipping documents in contravention of paragraph 4.1.1 (IV) of the Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2012 to 2013;

d. Your bank failed to issue a letter of indemnity to the CBN against double remittance in respect of twenty CCIs transferred by Standard Chartered Bank to your bank as required under subsection 5(iii) of Memorandum 24 of the Foreign Exchange Manual; and

e. Your bank repatriated dividends totaling $905,260.20 in respect of CCIs illegally issued on the strength of locally sourced capital.

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Committee of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria met with the management of your bank and the other banks as well as representatives of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in Lagos on May 25, 2018. This was to give all the parties fair hearing, towards taking an informed decision on the matter.

The bank again, said in a letter to CitiBank that its investigation revealed the following, among others:

i. The shareholders of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2001 to 2006;

ii. The investment was carried out through the inflow of foreign currency cash transfer and equipment importation evidenced by the CCIs issued by your bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Diamond Bank;

iii. The CCIs issued by your bank along with the other banks in respect of the $402,590,261.03 showed that $59,436,923.44 was recorded/invested as shareholders’ loan and $343,153,339.56 as equity at the time of the investment. This position was, however, contrary to the position in the financial statements of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited for the year ended December 31, 2007, which showed that $399,594,146.00 was invested as shareholders’ loan and $2,996,117.00 as equity investment, in accordance with the shareholder’s agreement but contrary to the CCIs issued by your bank, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and Diamond Bank (DB). Your action in this regard constituted a rendition of false returns to the Central Bank of Nigeria;

iv. Your bank issued seven (7) CCIs to MTN Nigeria (MTNN) totaling $42,126,803.04 that were subsequently transferred to Standard Chartered Bank Limited at the request of your customer (MTNN) on February 6, 2006, which constituted part of the CCIs that were consequently irregularly re-issued;

v. Four of the CCIs issued by your bank evidencing the inflow of capital imported as cash were issued outside the period of 24 hours allowed by regulation upon the receipt of inflow, in flagrant contravention of Memorandum 22 of the Foreign Exchange Manual;

vi. Your bank failed to comply with extant regulations on the issuance of letter of indemnity to the CBN in addition to forwarding the transaction history of the CCIs to the CBN, as provided in Memorandum 24(5)(ii)(b) of the Foreign Exchange Manual in respect of the CCIs received by your bank from Standard Chartered Bank; and

vii Your bank purchased $535,000,000 on the basis of photocopies of Form “A” bearing the name of Standard Chartered Bank as the applicant bank and the referenced CCIs in contravention of Memorandum 24 (4) (a) of the Foreign Exchange Manual 2006.

Advertisement

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Committee of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria met with the management of your bank and the other banks as well as representatives of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in Lagos on May 25, 2018. This was to give all the parties fair hearing, towards taking an informed decision on the matters.
While the apex bank’s letter to Diamond Bank read:

Our investigation also revealed the following, among others:

i. The shareholders of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2011 to 2006;

ii. The investment was carried out through the inflow of foreign currency cash transfer and equipment importation, which was evidenced by the CCIs issued by your bank, Citi Bank and Standard Chartered Bank;

iii. The CCIs issued illegally by your bank along with the other banks in respect of the $402,590,261.03 showed that $59,436,923.44 was recorded/invested as shareholders’ loan and $343,153,339.56 as equity. This position was, however, contrary to the position in the financial statements of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited for the year ended December 31, 2007, which showed that $399,594,146.00 was invested as shareholders’ loan and $2,996,117.00 as equity investment, in accordance with the shareholder’s agreement but contrary to the CCIs issued by your bank, Citi Bank (CB) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). Your action in this regard constituted a rendition of false returns to the Central Bank of Nigeria; and

iv. On account of the illegal conversion of the shareholders loan to preference shares (interest free loan) of $399,594,146.00, the sum of $8,134,312,397.63 was illegally repatriated by your bank and the other banks on behalf of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, within a period of six years.
Other findings from our investigation included the following:

a. Your bank issued three CCIs in favour of Dantata Investment for the sum of $5million without converting the foreign exchange received into Naira as required by our regulations. On the basis of these illegally issued CCIs, your bank repatriated the sum of $102,545,336.77 in respect of these CCIs;

b. A further review of the CCIs also showed that no Form “M” was opened as evidence of the utilization of the FX for the importation of goods (as “Not valid for FX”) into the country;

c. Your bank remitted the sum of $348,914,501.38 as dividend to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited offshore corporate shareholders without any documentary evidence of the audited account of the company to justify the basis of the payment of the dividend declared and paid by MTNN. This action was a violation of the provision of Memorandum 24(4)(b) of the Foreign Exchange Manual;

d. Your bank failed to indemnify SCB for losses and/or liabilities that may arise from the use of the CCIs you transferred to SCB in violation of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Manual 2006;

e. Your bank issued three CCIs outside the regulatory 24 hours without the approval of the CBN contrary to provisions of Memorandum 22 of the Foreign Exchange Manual 2006; and

f. Your bank illegally remitted the sum of $352,222,358.39 on behalf of Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank in respect of the various CCIs issued to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Committee of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria met with the management of your bank and the other banks as well as representatives of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in Lagos on May 25, 2018. This was to give all the parties fair hearing, towards taking an informed decision on the matter.