South Africa's financial stability threatened by MTN's $10 billion Nigeria bill - Cenbank

07 November 2018 - 18:30
By Reuters
MTN and Standard Bank's woes with the Nigerian government could spell bad news for the South African economy.
Image: Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS MTN and Standard Bank's woes with the Nigerian government could spell bad news for the South African economy.

Billions of dollars in fines owed by South African companies MTN and Standard Bank to Nigerian regulators could increase the risk to South Africa's financial system, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The Nigerian central bank in August accused telecoms firm MTN and its lender Stanbic, a Standard Bank subsidiary, of illegally sending $8.1 billion abroad.

The Nigerian government has also demanded $2 billion in related taxes from MTN. The South African mobile operator makes about a third of its annual core profit in the West African country.