The Tripoli-based leadership of the Libyan African Investment Portfolio (LAP), which owns LAP GreenN, said in a statement on Monday that it was "unable to continue to fund a poorly managed LAP GreenN."
LAP CEO Mohsen Derregia, said:
“LAP GreenN received US$ 208 million from LAP between November 2011, when Ahmed Kashadah and Wafiq Shater were appointed as General Managers of LAP and LAP GreenN (its subsidiary) respectively, and August 2014. We have been able to trace US$118m to UTL in Uganda, South Sudan GEMTEL, and the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leon Telecom concerns. It is not clear to us how the rest was used as access to our audit firm was declined repeatedly using the current political division as an excuse.
“The total funding provided to LAP GreenN by LAP and LIA is US$1.45 billion, of which over US$500 million were soft loans. With the exception of the US$208 million above, all between 2007 and 2011. Additionally, LAP GreenN has over US$150 million of debt funded by third parties.
“Several attempts had been made by LIA post-2011 to save the firm, but the intransigence of LAP's management then was a major obstacle. The attempts included conditional staged funding by LIA while I was LIA's Chairman in 2012, followed by the current Chairman's - Mr Breish, commissioned studies of LAP GreenN and LIA's board decision to accept the recommendations of the studies communicated to LAP to affect.
“It seems to me the current story about LAP GreenN being rescued by LPTIC is just to cover the fact that the promises made to Uganda to provide US$56 million of funding to Uganda's UTL (69% owned by LAP GreenN) during Foreign Minister Daery's visit to Uganda could not be fulfilled. Uganda has been in touch with us but we are unable to continue to fund a poorly managed LAP GreenN.”
(Source: LAP-Tripoli)
