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Vodacom Tanzania settles charges against execs

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 12 Apr 2019

Five Vodacom Tanzania employees, including MD Hisham Hendi, have been released after they were detained for allegedly depriving the Tanzanian government of revenue.

According to Bloomberg, Vodacom has paid a settlement amount of 5.3 billion shillings ($2.3 million) for the release of the executives.

Further, Vodacom made the payment "in order to settle charges", the mobile operator told Bloomberg.

Last week, the Tanzania Police Force charged Hendi and his co-accused with allegedly depriving the government of over 11 billion shillings ($4.8 million) in revenue.

At the time, Vodacom Tanzania said the police force had questioned certain employees, including Hendi, on allegations of fraudulent use of network facilities, adding that a bail application for the individuals in police custody will be heard in the next few days.

Reuters reports the employees appeared in court yesterday to answer charges brought against them.

"We pleaded guilty; we had a plea bargain with the director of public prosecutions and we pleaded guilty," Reuters quotes Rosalynn Mworia, Vodacom Tanzania director of corporate affairs.

According to Reuters, Vodacom Tanzania, a subsidiary of SA's Vodacom Group, is Tanzania's leading telecoms company by number of mobile subscribers, with about 32% of the country's 40 million mobile subscribers.

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