MTN announces withdrawal of N725bn back taxes by Nigeria

Nigeria's attorney general has withdrawn the initial N725bn ($2bn) in back taxes demanded from South African telecomms company, MTN.

According to the BBC, the two sides agreed on an out-of-court settlement following accusations levelled against MTN for taking N2.9trn ($8bn) out of the country illegally.

Nigeria is MTN’s largest market - and the South African phone company is Nigeria's largest mobile phone operator, with more than 50 million customers.

MTN Group CEO, Rob Shuter, released a statement on Friday which says, "We appreciate this decision of the attorney general which paves the way to an orderly and amicable resolution of this matter."