Tanzanian Probe Finds Airtel Unit Was Privatized Illegally
- Government says ‘country conned’ by 2005 transfer from state
- Airtel has said it gained all necessary government approvals
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A Tanzanian probe found that the local unit of Indian mobile-phone company Bharti Airtel Ltd. was originally transferred from the state illegally and the government will start talks to retake what it says is its rightful share of the business.
The investigation discovered that the initial privatization of Tanzania Telecommunications Corp. “broke the law, regulations and procedure,” according to a statement from President John Magufuli’s office that quoted Finance Minister Philip Mpango. “What we saw was very dirty and terrible. In short, our country was conned and a lot of money was lost,” Mpango said.