Bank sells Akingbola’s London houses to recover debt

Access Bank Plc said it had sold some London properties of a former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola, in a bid to recover a debt of N164bn from him.According to the bank, a sum of £11m has so far been recovered by selling Akingbola’s properties known as Flats 17, 18, 19 and 20, Embassy Court London, NW 8.

Dr Erastus Akingbola
| credits: File copy

The bank stated that its move was pursuant to a judgement given in its favour against Akingbola in July 2012 by a London High Court.

It added that upon discovering another of Akingbola’s properties in Cayman Island, it filed an application to convert the London judgment to a Cayman Island judgment. And on September 4, 2014 Justice Andrew Jones, of the Grand Court of Cayman Islands, ordered Akingbola to pay the bank the sums of N238, 471,484,162 and £1,800,000.

Access Bank acquired Intercontinental Bank in 2012. The bank had filed a debt recovery action in the London High Court, in respect of the sum said to have been converted and allegedly misappropriated by Akingbola.

In a copy of the said judgement, which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, the trial judge, Jones said all the issues raised were decided in favour of the bank since the defendant failed to enter any defence.

The judge held, “Upon reading the affidavit of service Taiwo Abiodun dated August 15, 2014, exhibited to the affidavit of Jane Helle-Smith sworn on September 4, 2014 and no notice of intention to defend having been filed by the defendant prior to the plaintiff’s said application, it is ordered that judgment be entered against the defendant in the amount of N238, 471,484,162 and £1,800,000.

“Interest shall accrue at the rate of two per cent per annum pursuant to Section 34 of the Judicature Law (2013 Revision) on the £1,800,000 sum due above from April 1 until payment.”

The court also put the cost of instituting the action on Akingbola.

It directed that, if conveyed by courier, the order of court shall be properly served on Akingbola at his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos or through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) in Nigeria, in accordance with the substituted service order of the court dated July 22, 2014.

More details from punch