MTN Group hires ex-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, to appeal Nigeria fine

South African wireless operator – the MTN Group – has hired a former top U.S. law enforcement official to help challenge a US$3.9 billion fine imposed by Nigeria’s communications regulator – the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) – for failing to disconnect unregistered users.

Citing officials familiar with the situation, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, on behalf of the wireless carrier, has appealed to Nigerian officials over the course of January this year.

MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone company, was handed a US$5.2 billion penalty in October, prompting weeks of lobbying that led to a 25 percent reduction to US$3.9 billion. MTN, however, was still not prepared to pay the fine and launched a court challenge in December, saying the Nigerian Communications Commission had no legal grounds to impose the penalty.

A judge in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, last month gave MTN until March 18 to try to reach a settlement over the fine, which equates to more than twice MTN’s annual average capital spending over the past 5 years.

MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng was not immediately available to comment.

Eric Holder, who led the U.S. Justice Department from 2009 to 2015 and was one of President Barack Obama’s longest-serving cabinet members, returned to law firm Covington & Burling, where he was previously a partner from 2001 to 2009.

Source: Agencies