The South African telecommunication company claimed that it has complied with the Nigerian fund transfer rules and did not sent money out of the country prior to the acquirement of the regulatory approvals.
The Chief Executive of MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, said in an official statement that MTN has requested "certificates of capital importation (CCI)" for capital brought into Nigeria and dividends were repatriated based on those investments.
"MTN Nigeria only requested for CCIs for foreign capital that was imported into Nigeria, and dividends were externalized on CCIs," Moolman said.
During the previous month, the upper house of parliament of Nigeria has agreed for an investigation whether Africa's biggest telecommunications company illegally repatriated $13.92 billion between 2006 and 2016.
On the parliamentary hearing on Thursday regarding the said issue, MTN's Moolman, Nigerian Trade Minister Okechukwu Elenemah and four other lenders had attended.
Nigerian Senator Dino Melaye proposed a motion calling for an investigation into MTN's illegal repatriation of funds.
The move comes as Nigeria struggles with its first recession in a generation and dollar shortages due to low oil prices.
The issue has battered MTN's shares, which were down on Friday near a 6-1/2 year low at 106.83 rand as of 1006 GMT (0606 EDT).
Chairman of Nigeria's senate investigative panel on alleged illegal repatriation of funds, Rafiu Ibrahim, confirmed on Wednesday that a team from both international and local accountancy experts and lawyers had worked together to look further into the issue.
MTN is the largest mobile network operator in Nigeria, which is the continent's biggest economy and accounts for a third of MTN's revenue.
MTN Group, formerly M-Cell, is a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African, European and Asian countries. Its head office is in Johannesburg. As of 30 September 2015, MTN recorded over 300 million subscribers across its operations
The company sponsored the CAF Champions League football competition as well as APOEL FC, winners of the Cypriot First Division in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 and participants in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 UEFA Champions League.
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