The Cameroon subsidiary of South African mobile operator MTN Group said late on Tuesday it won't exit the country despite the seizure of its bank accounts since 2022 under a Cameroon court order.

MTN is Africa's largest mobile carrier and its Cameroon subsidiary has one of the biggest networks in the country, with around 11 million users.

Last year, MTN Cameroon's funds of 14 billion CFA francs ($23.72 million) were transferred into an escrow account managed by the court registrar, as part of a garnishee order relating to a dispute between Cameroonian businessman Ahmadou Baba Danpullo and South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) according to MTN.

After the bank liquidated a number of properties belonging to Danpullo in South Africa, the businessman sought to recover funds from South African companies including MTN on the grounds that like FNB they are partially owned by South Africa's Public Investment Corporation.

A spokesperson for Danpullo's company, the Baba Danpullo Group, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Mitwa Ng'ambi, CEO of MTN Cameroon, said the company continued to engage with authorities and stakeholders to resolve the issue and would remain in Cameroon.

The case poses a distraction to the company's purpose and it has also delayed capital investment, she said.

"Quite a bit of time and efforts are spent in trying to plead our case in court – time which should have been spent on the core essence of our business, (which is) to deliver digital solutions to Cameroon," Ng'ambi said.