Group asks regulators to wade into ‘forced liquidation’ of maritime company

Campaign Against Impunity (CAI), a civil society group has called on regulators in the oil, gas, and maritime sectors, to wade into the “forced liquidation” of Sea Trucks Group (STG), an indigenous company, by some expatriates.

The group made the call in a series of letters addressed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the Nigerian Content and Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

TheCable had reported the alleged takeover of STG owned by Jacques Roomans, a Dutch-Nigerian.

Insider information revealed that expatriates led by Fraser Moore, owner of Telford Offshore, allegedly cooked up a plan to rid Roomans of his company, citing his inability to repay a portion of a $575 million bond taken in March 2013 to grow the business.

The group alleged that though many in the industry is aware of case which is in court, there are “little concerted efforts at intervening to safeguard a Nigerian company from a battle of attrition that violates justice and fair play”.

“The Campaign Against Impunity has therefore made a strong call on the Nigerian federal government and the industry regulators – NAPIMS, NCDMB and NOTAP – for quick interventions into this matter as a way of protecting the sanctity of Nigerian businesses from the foregoing form of activities, in which court decisions and judgments are flagrantly flouted with impunity,” it said in a statement.

“The regulators need to presently discountenance the different claims of the liquidators and front company, Telford Offshore – for seeking an illegal possession of assets, and doing direct business in the country – till there is proper judicial resolution of this case.

“We would have thought that under the laws of natural justice, a proper liquidation process of a business concern could only be embarked upon when the debts/balance on the bond taken is greater than the assets of the defaulting company. Rather strangely, this does not appear to be the case at hand, as the assets far outstrip the balance on the bond taken.

“More so, the new company, Telford Offshore, working in sync with liquidators of STG, and based out of Dubai, is seeking to carry on business in Nigeria, using the assets of Mr. Jacques Roomans – founder of STG and its sister company West African Ventures (WAV), despite the failure to address the issues raised on the liquidation protocol.

“We foresee the negative consequences of the breeding of a climate of distrust in our justice system, and ultimately a lack of confidence in the Nigerian business environment, which would be most unfortunate in these days that the government is making spirited efforts at pulling all hands on deck in building the national economy.”