MTN Hires Ex-US Attorney-General, Eric Holder, For Talks With NCC

 Telecom giants, MTN, has employed a former United States attorney-general, Eric Holder, to negotiate on its behalf  in its case with the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) over the N1.04 trillion fine placed on it by telecom regulator for not deactivating 5.1 million subscriber identification module (SIM) cards.

Holder’s brief is to help fight the multi-billion-dollar fine imposed on the mobile operator by Nigerian authorities.

Sources familiar with the matter said Holder made an initial visit to Abuja last month to plead with senior Nigerian officials on MTN’s behalf.

The hiring of Holder followed MTN’s decision to seek an out-of-court settlement with NCC late January after it had challenged the power of the telecom regulator to impose the N1.04 trillion on it.

MTN is making little progress with its attempts to convince Nigerian authorities the fine is disproportionate and beyond the regulator’s authority. The Nigerian authorities claim the amount was calculated correctly according to rules set in 2011 on disconnecting unregistered Sims. During his time as attorney general from 2009-2015, Holder participated in a number of major settlements with corporations such as JPMorgan Chase over mortgage-backed securities and BP over the Horizon oil spill.

When contacted to confirm the development, an official of MTN Nigeria said he was unaware of the matter.

“What you are saying is news to me; I cannot confirm or deny it. I just heard of it from you now,” the official said.

According to Financial Times, an unnamed official said MTN was also found to have ignored warnings that its unregistered Sim cards were being used by criminals and Boko Haram terrorists, especially after a terrorist commander was captured with dozens of MTN cards after the August 2015 deadline for disconnecting any unregistered Sims.