The management of Activa International Insurance Company could face arrest after failing to settle a court-ordered debt of $430,920, following a ruling delivered by the Debt Court for Montserrado County on 14 July.
Activa, which had acted as surety for Western Cluster and Citadel Mining Services, posted a $750,000 indemnity bond to lift attachments placed on the companies’ properties during a lawsuit filed by Horizon Transport and Construction Company.
The case stemmed from an equipment rental dispute involving a Hitachi 850 machine leased by Citadel Mining from Horizon, a company owned by British investor Hans Armstrong.
According to court filings, Citadel Mining, a Ghanaian subcontractor for Western Cluster, rented the heavy machinery in July 2022 for use on Western Cluster’s concession site in Bomi County.
Armstrong’s suit alleged that from August 2022 to 31 May 2023, Citadel operated the equipment for eight and a half months without payment, accumulating $378,000 in fees. With interest, the total debt reached $430,920.
While Western Cluster was initially implicated under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior — holding principals liable for their agents’ debts — the court absolved the company of liability, placing full responsibility on Citadel Mining.
The ruling ordered Citadel to pay, but subsequent attempts by court officers to locate the company’s management at its Monrovia headquarters and Bomi County site failed. Both offices were shuttered, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Horizon’s legal team successfully petitioned the court to hold Activa, as the surety, liable for the unpaid judgment. Judge James E. Jones granted the motion, requiring the insurer to settle the debt.
Judicial sources claim Citadel Mining and Western Cluster had previously paid Activa $40,000 to secure temporary removal of property attachments. Activa is now required to appear before the court to address the outstanding payment, or face possible arrest for non-compliance.
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