LEC’s CEO Remains Defiant in US$434K Debt Saga
Monie Captan, LEC CEO
— As Swedish Company’s Liberian Lawyer expresses disappointment
Cllr. Moses Paegar, one of the Liberian lawyers representing a Swedish Company, ELTEL Network, in a US$434,452 outstanding debt, has expressed frustration about the recalcitrant behavior of Mr. Monie Captan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) — being unwilling to ensure an amicable settlement of the issue, especially out of court.
Paegar, of the Justice Advocates & Partners law firm, expressed regrets as he declared in his second attempt to invite Captan and his management to a conference. “LEC management neither appeared nor otherwise favored our response,” Paegar wrote in his March 4, 2024 letter.
LEC’s indebtedness results from a 2019-2020 agreement reached between ELTEL and LEC for the Swedish Company to supply low-voltage electrical materials to expand LEC power distribution. It is not in dispute because Captan has acknowledged LEC owes the foreign electricity company.
Peagar claimed on Tuesday, April 2, that the March 4 communication was for CEO Captan to attend a conference on March 12, at his law firm office to exhaust all possible means to find an amicable resolution.
Despite the reported lack of interest in an amicable court settlement, Captan has, through a communication to Gunner Edholm, the company’s chief executive officer, acknowledged LEC’S indebtedness to ELTEL Network.
Paegar’s letter also said, “The aforesaid payment demand, notwithstanding, we indicated that since it is the policy of our firm to first exhaust all possible means for the amicable resolution of a matter before resorting to litigation, we deemed it appropriate to invite management to a conference to discuss the concerns of our client and LEC reaction thereto.”
Captan again did not show up to the conference.
Trying to avoid the matter from reaching the court, Peagar wrote another letter, where he cited Captan to attend a conference on March 19, to have the matter amicably resolved.
He wrote, “To evidence our client's willingness and preparedness to have the matter amicably adjusted, we have decided to reschedule the conference for Tuesday, March 19, at the hour of 3 pm. The venue remains the same. We trust that management will demonstrate like spirit towards the settlement of ELTEL claims soonest and short of litigation.”
Paegar’s frustration was also echoed by Gunner Edholm, ELTEL’s chief executive officer.
Edholm, on January 1, 2024, wrote Captan, reminding him of the outstanding debts. However, up to now, Edholm claimed, Captan has refused and failed to respond to the letter, leaving the vendor with no option but to seek the Justice Advocate & Partners' intervention to avoid resorting to litigation.
The money is not in dispute because Captan has acknowledged LEC’s indebtedness to ELTEL Network in several emails and communications.
The money resulted from the 2019-2020 agreement reached between ELTEL and LEC for the Swedish Company to supply low-voltage electrical materials to expand LEC power distribution.
Gunner Edholm, ELTEL’s chief executive officer, said, on January 1, 2024, he wrote LEC’s CEO, Mr. Monie Captan, reminding him of the outstanding debts. However, up to now, Edholm claimed, Captan has refused and failed to respond to the letter, leaving the vendor with no option but to seek legal redress.
Edholm also claimed that besides the January 1, 2024 communication, several other letters were written from Sweden to the management team at LEC. Unfortunately, they have yet to receive any response.
Edholm said, that to resolve the matter from reaching court, they (ELTEL Network) between 2019-2020 offered to the LEC management composition settlement agreement based on a direct payment of US$360,000, meaning if they were to accept the offer, ELTEL Network was going to deduct US$74,452, which LEC failed to honor.
“It is with deep regret that they have addressed the public regarding the ongoing issue of unpaid debt for the essential services they provided to LEC from 2019 to 2020,” the Swedish company said in a statement. “This is a result of the LEC’s continuous refusal and unwillingness to settle its indebtedness to ELTEL Network.”
Edholm claims that after Captan took over the helm at LEC, he continued to make promises of settlement, which are yet to materialize or come to fruition.
“This behavior is disgusting, and we have resolved to seek justice in the country’s judicial system. We are waiting for 14 days to begin the legal proceedings,” the statement noted.