Abuja 26 Oct (ANA) - South African mobile-phone giant MTN is being investigated in Nigeria for allegedly "repatriating" $ 13.97bn (£ 11.45bn) illegally, reports South Africa's New Age paper. It says Nigeria’s central bank has suspended MTN’s dividend payments until further notice. Africa analyst Dobek Pater told the New Age: "If the funds remain in Nigeria, they may lose a considerable portion of their value, depending what happens to the Nigerian economy and the naira. If the naira loses value against the dollar, MTN would be able to buy fewer dollars for the naira held in Nigeria."

The phone company has already been in trouble in Nigeria - last year it was fined $ 5.2bn for failing to disconnect unregistered Sim cards. After negotiations, MTN agreed in June to pay $ 1.7bn to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the transgression.(ANA)

FA/ANA/26 October 2016------