Huhuonline.com
can authoritatively report that the management of Bank PHB has dragged
M.R.S Holdings limited to court over non- payment of Fifty eight million
dollars ($58M) loan it granted to the company to purchase Chevron
Texaco in 2008. MRS is
owned by Sayyu Dantata and his uncle, Aliko Dangote has 25 percent interest.
According to court documents, with reference number ID/1336/10, which was filed
at the Ikeja High Court, BankPHB averred that in 2008 when Chevron
Texaco a multinational petroleum exploration and marketing company
decided to shed off its marketing operation business in Nigeria, Togo,
Benin Republic, Cameroun, Congo and Cote d’ Ivoire. However, after the
verification of the value of the business, the price was fixed at USD
792M...Due to the huge financial commitment involved in the acquisition of the
business interests of Chevron Texaco in the aforementioned countries,
Sayyu Dantata`s M.R.S Holdings approached the bank for credit
facilities, in the sum of $50,000,000.00(fifty million dollars)The bank avers that after it considered M.R.S`s proposals, it found it
viable and was willing to support it, but made it clear to them that the
financial outlay is not what it can provide alone, and impressed it on
the company to ensure that a consortium of financial institutions be
convinced to support them in the acquisition bid....Consequently, a consortium of banks agreed to provide credit facilities to MRS. The
banks include Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, Intercontinental
Bank, Oceanic Bank, Bank PHB, Union Bank and Zenith. Our checks reveal
that at some point, Intercontinental, Oceanic and Zenith Bank opted out
of the transactions, thus Ecobank was admitted to join the consortium
of creditors.Pursuant to the customer and bank relationships, the bank granted the facility
of $50m as requested by Sayyu Dantata, after reaching an agreement with
other creditors on the terms and conditions for making the credit
facility available which were reduced into writing and codified in two
documents namely; “the bridge facility agreement’ and ‘the supplement
facility agreement’, availed to him in the sum of USD 50m for a period
360 days ,i.e. one year but Sayyu Dantata and his company took the
benefit of the facility granted them by the bank and acquired the
business interest of Chevron/Texaco but when the repayment plan expired
Sayyu failed to live up to his obligations to pay back the money now
running to USD58,242,411.64(fifty eight million, two hundred and forty
two thousand, four hundred and eleven United States dollars, fifty four
cent).In addition, Bank PHB has obtained an order of
Mareva injunction restraining all commercial banks in Nigeria from
releasing or dealing in any manner whatsoever with any and all monies
and/or whatsoever due to Sayyu Dantata and his companies from any
account whatsoever, maintained by him, his agents, privies,
subsidiaries, sister companies or the like with any commercial banks
wherever situated up to the amount of the bank claim of the sum of
US$58,242,411.64 or its naira equivalent at the prevailing Central Bank
of Nigeria exchange rate being the close debit balance outstanding on
his account with BankPHB as at 31st August,2010 in respect of the credit facility granted to his companies and guaranteed by him .Aside from Bank PHB, Sayyu Dantata and Aliko Dangote and their companies owes
Union Bank $300m,FCMB $90m,Ecobank $50m,Fidelity Bank $50m and another
$100m from the consortiums of all these banks who are also set to move
in to claim the huge amount of money loaned to themHowever, in order not to pay back the loan, Sayyu was alleged to have contacted
the new Managing Director of Bank PHB and other bank managing directors
of the affected banks to allegedly grease their palms so they can do
some “financial abracadabra” to write off the loan. This move,
huhuonline.com gathered was rebuffed by the bank chiefs for fear of the
Sanusi Lamido-led Central Bank of Nigeria which has been monitoring all
the transactions of all the financial institutions with keen interest.The question many people are asking is what they have done with the huge
amount of money that if converted to naira is about N145b.Gathered that
rather than use the money judiciously, it is alleged that they spent it
on vanity buying posh cars, private jets, and expensive ponies and
womanizing .Sayyu we learnt recently completed a massive mansion in
Banana Island a new site for the upper class in Lagos State and also own
a private jet.Aside these, Sayyu who is also a polo freak spends fortune on his horses,
which he uses to play the game and they are mostly of expensive Arabian
and Argentine pedigree with each cost about US$10,000 and maintaining
them is equally as expensive.He is also alleged to spend mind-bugging fortune on his mistresses and
one of them is allegedly to be Amina Maina, who doubles as a director in
the company and to say that she is stupendously rich will be an
understatement. She has houses both in Lagos, Abuja and London with
assorted luxury vehicles and vintage cars..It is not only Sayyu’s M.R.S that is struggling to survive, another of his
company Ovlas Trading based in Monaco, France which he owns with one of
his friends Patrice Albertis is equally suffering the same fate.It has been alleged that the company owes several banks across the globe
and was recently liquidated. Like M.R.S, most of Ovla’s profits were
used to acquire personal properties aside from lavishing it on women and
throwing expensive parties in France.Right now, Aliko Dangote is doing everything possible to distance himself
from the trouble of Sayyu. Aliko Dangote claims ignorant of the huge
loan collected by the company where he is a director and also
guaranteed $100m loan though this is not the first time that Aliko
would distance himself from his brothers at trying and difficult
moments.An example was when the Central Bank rolled out the names of influential
and wealthy Nigerians who owed banks last year, Dangote quickly came out
that CBN didn’t mention his own name but that of Ali Dangote who is his
nephew and according to him then he claimed “it is important to note
that Ali Dangote is different from Aliko Dangote, Ali Dangote is
incidentally, the son of Sani Dangote.Read more…
