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.
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.