Tanzanian officials are holding talks with Bharti Airtel to discuss ownership issues, after it was found assets used to form its local unit were transferred out of government ownership illegally.

Airtel requested the negotiations with a view to “reaching agreement between both parties and strengthening the communication sector in Tanzania,” the office of President John Magufuli said in a statement sent to Bloomberg.

The talks follow a probe conducted in January: at the time, the president’s office had said it would open talks with Airtel to recover the stake claimed to be rightfully owned by the nation.

At the heart of the matter is a complaint dating back to the part privatisation of Tanzania Telecommunications Company in 2001. After the probe was announced Airtel denied any wrongdoing and said its transaction had been approved by the government of the day.