Liberia: GT-Bank Files US$1.2M Lawsuit Against Kailondo

A Liberian businessman, George Kailondo, and his company, Kailondo Petroleum have been sued by the Guaranty Trust Bank for conniving with ACE Global to dupe the bank of petroleum products worth US$3.3 million.

ACE Global is a firm responsible for the storage of petroleum products for private entities stationed on the premises of the National Port Authority (NPA). The suit alleges that Kailondo has intentionally refused to pay his debt which is a little over US$1 million.

According to the suit, Kailondo, who is a Counselor-at-Law enters into a collateral management agreement with the Bank on September 29, 2017, for a letter of credit to facilitate the shipping of his petroleum products to Sweden and also entered into an agreement with ACE Global to monitor the petroleum movement from the storage to the market.

The suit claimed that ACE without the bank's knowledge conspired with Kailondo and secretly took away the petroleum products subject to the agreement without any payment.

"When the bank discovered ACE Global and Kailondo's dubious acts, Kailondo offered to make the full payment of US$791,458.21," the suit claimed. "Defendant Kailondo's offer was accepted in the utmost good faith to pay the full amount of ACE Global's financial obligation, that is, terms of payment were drawn out in the Novation Agreement payable in twenty-four (24) consecutive monthly installments of the amount of US$32,977.45 commencing from November 30, 2017, to October 30, 2019.

"Kailondo has since the agreement, defaulted on several occasions and the bank had to enter into a restructuring agreement by extending Kailondo's payment of the balance of  US$839,514.50. We are therefore seeking the court's approval to take possession and custody of all identifiable properties and or assets of Kailonda Petroleum.

Some of the properties and assets include monies, vehicles, equipment, and other assets, "to reach the actual amount of US$1,231,521.01."