Panic grips bank debtors over AMCON hammer

There is palpable fear among corporate organizations that are heavily indebted to commercial lenders over a possible takeover of their business by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which these banks have sold their non-performing loans to.

The anxiety among these companies is sequel to AMCON’s present resolve to clampdown on organizations with toxic debts, which it has bought over.

Mr. Kayode Lambo, the spokesperson of AMCON told Hallmark that the organization currently has over 12,500 toxic loans it is trying to recover.

He stated that AMCON usually takes over companies with toxic debts that fail to honour their promises to repay their loans after several consultations.

“If somebody has pledged security and he is unable to pay after we have restructured; sometimes we send some people to them to help them. They may decide to give us the company.

It is not an unusual thing, it has happened before,” he explained.

The AMCON spokesman also said the organization has already commenced court processes that would facilitate the recovery of these debts.

AMCON recently took over G. Cappa’s property situated at 8, Taylor Road, Ebute Metta, Lagos due to the construction company’s alleged failure to pay a debt of more than N1.2 billion is owing United Bank for Africa.

It took over the property having received the nod to do so from Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

According to a report published by Sahara Reporters, an online news medium, the court approved AMCON’s seizure of the construction company’s landed property pending the hearing and determination of a substantive debt recovery suit filed by AMCON.

The court also restrained G. Cappa from dealing with the property in any form and ordered that its accounts in other banks or financial institutions in the country should be frozen.

An affidavit by Victor Igabor of AMCON’s Credit Directorate stated that, sometime between April 28, 2000 and March 2002, G. Cappa applied for and was granted a loan of N880 million by United Bank for Africa.

Chuks Okeugiri, the lawyer representing AMCON, stated that the construction company secured the loan with the property situated in Ebute Metta.

The lawyer disclosed that G. Cappa failed and neglected to liquidate its indebtedness, leaving an outstanding balance of more than N1.2 billion.

AMCON stated that the debtor had not responded to several appeals to pay or restructure the loan, hence its decision to retain Mr. Okeugiri to file legal action to recover the debt.

AMCOM is claiming the sum of N1,207, 296,646.45 from G. Cappa, with interest at the rate of 21 percent from June 4, 2014 until judgment is delivered and thereafter. The corporation is also seeking a 10 percent penalty on the loan until final liquidation of the judgment sum.

 But the Cappa’s lawyer, Taiwo Taiwo, denied that the company had failed to liquidate its indebtedness to UBA.

According to him, there was a disagreement over the exact the amount of the company’s indebtedness to UBA, adding that the discrepancy explained the reason the company had not offset its debt.

Meanwhile, the case that been adjourned October 6, 2015.

 AMCON also recently took over Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc, a cocoa-processing company located in Warewa, Ogun State over its failure to upset debt it owed Skye Bank, which transferred to it, after obtaining a court order from the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

It would be recalled that most banks last month published the names of the delinquent debtors as a part of the drive to recover their non-performing loans.

It was gathered that some of these banks are already making arrangements to sell their toxic debts to AMCON.