Amadou Sonko, Acting Chairman of First International Bank (FIBank) Gambia Limited has written to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice seeking his office to intervene in resolving the protracting dispute between FIBank and Lilium Holding Limited (VISTA Bank), revealing that private lawyers, Central Bank officials, and the judiciary have connived to fraudulent takes the ownership of FIBank without due consideration to the Shares Purchase Agreement as well as court rulings and judgment delivered on the matter.
The Voice Newspaper has been privy to grabbed a copy of this letter dated 23rd September 2022, which was also copied to the Secretary-General and Head of Civil Servants, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Governor Central Bank, and Registrar of Companies (ROC).
“I want to draw your attention to an important but sad, shocking, provocative, and excruciating painful development in our country. I am referring to the legal battle between those who now called themselves VISTA Bank and Slok Nigeria Limited the owners of First International Bank Limited (FiBank Limited). The two entities as you already know went into a contractual agreement for the sale of First International Bank. For ease of understanding, I will use VISTA Bank even though the name is illegal but the original transferee is Lillium Grays and Lillium Holdings Limited,” Acting Chairman FIBank, Amadou Sonko, wrote to Attorney General.
He added: “The agreement for the sale of FIBank shares was registered with the Ministry of Justice sometime in 2016, and the transferee was allowed to occupy the bank and pay later as agreed but unfortunately, the transferee (VISTA Bank) failed to pay as agreed and insisted on owing the bank on the basis that they have invested in it.”
He noted that common sense would dictate that when VISTA Bank occupied the FIBank it was obvious that they would invest and that is what every other business-minded person would expect but those investments no matter the value couldn’t represent the agreed purchase price for the shares. He added that with the status quo, Slok Nigeria Limited decided to institute a legal action in the High Court of The Gambia presided by Justice M.U Okoi, who delivered the judgment in favor of the plaintiff (Slok Nigeria Ltd).
According to him, the High Court of The Gambia has made orders to the effect which includes, specific order terminating and canceling the Share Purchase Price (SPA) between the plaintiff and the defendants, an injunction restraining the defendants, their servants, agents, or whosoever on their behalf from parading or continuing to parade themselves as owners of the shares, adding that a declaration nullifying any purported change of the directors of the plaintiff since the signing of the SPA as well as a declaration order that the directors before any purported change of directorship affected by the defendants since the signing of the SPA remains the authentic directors and remains so in the absence of their prior registration or resolution by them to the contrary.
The Acting Chairman FIBank continued to disclose that one million dalasis (D1million) were also awarded in damages for breach of the Share Purchase Agreement, adducing that fifty thousand dalasis (D50, 000.00) were equally awarded against the defendants.
