Colombia will use telecom fines to finance next year’s budget

Colombia will use $980 million in fines paid by two mobile phone operators to pre-finance budgetary needs for next year, Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said.

In July, a Colombian arbitration panel fined local subsidiaries of Mexico’s America Movil and Spain’s Telefonica a total of $1.5 billion for failing to meet contractual conditions for cellular services.

A $980 million portion of the fine was paid in U.S. dollars and the remainder in Colombian pesos, Cardenas said.

Source: Reuters