The Digest:
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has listed Silverbird’s flagship Abuja Mall for auction, escalating a decade-long battle to recover a N10 billion debt from Senator Ben Murray-Bruce’s entertainment empire.
Key Points:
- The Abuja Mall, a prime commercial complex, is now open for bids as part of AMCON's strategy to dispose of assets across various states.
- The property was initially seized in June 2016 following a Federal High Court order concerning the debt owed by the Murray-Bruce family's companies.
- Justice C.M.A. Olatoregun appointed M.A. Banire as receiver to take over the assets and barred the Murray-Bruce family from interfering.
- Despite subsequent negotiations, the debt remained unresolved, prompting AMCON's current aggressive asset recovery drive targeting high-profile debtors.
- The Abuja mall, a flagship Silverbird property, features retail shops, a cinema, restaurants, and office spaces, with a gross lettable area of 15,050.91 square metres.
- Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, a media entrepreneur and founder of Silverbird Group, served in the National Assembly from 2015 to 2019.
- As of 2017, AMCON reported that over 400 high-profile obligors accounted for approximately N4.5 trillion, nearly 80 percent of its total outstanding debt.
- Bids for the Abuja mall and other listed properties are due by July 11.
Sources: Premium Times, AMCON, Business Day
