Indian businessman accuses Maerskline of fraudulent auctioning of $120,891 goods

An Indian businessman based in Lagos, Satiya Prabhu Lal, has lodged a formal complaint against Maerskline, a Nigerian shipping company, alleging fraudulent auctioning of his container worth over $120,891. 

The businessman claims that despite fulfilling all necessary payments and documentation, his container was secretly auctioned without his knowledge and that he was continuously extorted for additional charges.

In a petition addressed to the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations at the Maritime Command, Force Headquarters Annex, Kam Selem House, Moloney Street, Lagos, Lal detailed how his shipment—a 20-foot container (No. MSKU – 7934545) with bill of lading No. 233042669—arrived at Apapa Port in February 2024. He hired LATEPO Nigeria Enterprises to handle the clearance process.

According to Lal, he paid a total of N3,167,350.00 in demurrage fees to Maerskline through his agent, Adeyemi Isaac. Following this, the company issued a delivery order for the release of the container.

However, upon reaching the port, he was informed that the container had been placed on hold. Subsequently, he was asked to pay an additional N104,597.00 to revalidate the delivery order.

“After making the additional payment, I was given a second delivery order on November 22, 2024. Unknown to me, Maerskline had already issued another delivery order to an auctioneer on November 19, 2024. When I arrived at the Apapa Port on November 23, 2024, I discovered that my container had been fraudulently moved out of the port to an unknown destination,” Lal alleged.

Police investigations revealed that the container, shipped from India by KSS Syntex Private Limited via Maerskline, was indeed cleared for delivery. However, despite all necessary payments and documentation by the businessman, the container was missing, and Maerskline was unable to account for its whereabouts.

Further inquiries revealed that the Nigerian Customs Service’s auction office in Abuja had auctioned the container and allocated it to another auctioneer. Customs officials had reportedly notified Maerskline of this auction on October 31, 2024.

However, detectives discovered that Maerskline concealed this information from the businessman and continued to demand demurrage payments from him.

The police further established that Lal had made multiple payments to Maerskline, including: N76,271.00 as an initial demurrage fee on July 19, 2024; N100,000.00 a few months later; N2,991,888.00 on November 14, 2024, following which he was issued a release order that was later placed on hold; An additional charge of N104,597.00 after the release order was revoked

When contacted for comments, a source from Maerskline, identified as Gbenga, dismissed the allegations.

“The Indian businessman abandoned his container for ten months, and at the expiration of that period, Customs auctioned it through another auctioneer in Abuja. We merely handed over the items to the auctioneer after receiving the official Customs papers. He should be taking this issue up with Customs, not us.”

Gbenga further stated that when the police intervened, Maerskline offered to refund the businessman the N3 million he had paid in demurrage, but he refused. “Instead, he keeps threatening to tarnish the company’s name in newspapers and online media. Our legal team is handling the matter,” he added.

As the case unfolds, the Nigerian police have intensified investigations to determine the level of involvement of Maerskline in the alleged fraudulent auction and whether legal action should be taken against the company.