N31.6 billion belonging to Multichoice trapped in liquidated Heritage Bank
The sum of N31.6 billion belonging to Multichoice Group, owners of DSTV, has gotten trapped in Heritage Bank, which the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) formally liquidated.
The liquidated bank had previously formed a partnership with Multichoice Nigeria by sponsoring some of their projects, including Big Brother Naija and the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards (AMVCA).
Multichoice Group’s annual report for FY 2024 revealed that, as of the 2024 fiscal year’s end on March 31, 2024, it had a deposit of N33.7 billion with the bank.
However, cash remittances caused its deposit to reduce to N31.6 billion, which exceeds the N5 million payout guaranteed by the NDIC.
Following this development, MultiChoice, in its annual report, vowed to engage with the NDIC to “ensure a reasonable outcome is achieved.”
The NDIC announced the bank’s liquidation in a press release on June 3, 2024. It assured depositors with funds above N5 million that they would receive a liquidation dividend contingent upon realising the bank’s assets and recovering its outstanding debts.
Also, in a newspaper advert on June 13, the NDIC announced that in the exercise of its rights as liquidator of failed deposit money banks, it “hereby invites interested members of the general public to buy the assets (landed property and chattels) of defunct Heritage Banks through public competitive bidding.”
The constantly fluctuating exchange rate in Nigeria led to Multichoice incurring losses in its cash repatriations.
One of its services, DSTV, recorded an 18 per cent dip in active subscribers in Nigeria, whose contribution to the group’s revenue also dropped from 44 per cent to 35 per cent as of FYE 2022.
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