Court Holds MOTC Liable For US$3.24M In Ducor Petroleum Dispute

In a major breakthrough in a corporate dispute spanning over a decade, the Special Commercial Court has held the Monrovia Oil Trading Corporation (MOTC) liable for US$3,244,100.78 improperly withdrawn from Ducor Petroleum Inc.’s bank account at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI).

Delivering the ruling on Friday, September 18, 2026, Special Commercial Court Judge U-Jay W. H. S. Bright ordered MOTC to account for the funds and formally rejected the company’s claim to a 90 percent ownership stake in Ducor Petroleum. The court’s findings fully restored businessman Amos Brosius as the company’s sole legitimate owner.

The legal saga originates from July 2013, when a Commercial Court order froze Ducor Petroleum’s LBDI account. According to court records presented by Brosius, the freeze was lifted just days later without his knowledge or consent, enabling the unauthorized withdrawal of more than US$3 million. The incident triggered years of extensive litigation and complaints, including a Judiciary Inquiry Commission investigation that initially held former Commercial Court Judge Eva Mappy Morgan liable for unethical conduct—a finding later reversed by the Supreme Court. Throughout the dispute, MOTC maintained that only US$212,704.36 had been placed in escrow under an agreement involving Afriland First Bank Liberia Ltd.

The matter returned to the Special Commercial Court following an August 5, 2026 order. Acting under this mandate, Judge Bright subpoenaed commercial banks that held Ducor Petroleum accounts between 2013 and 2018 and conducted a thorough audit of the financial statements. The court’s review confirmed that US$3,244,100.78 had been withdrawn from Ducor’s LBDI account, leading to the liability ruling against MOTC. Additionally, the court ordered the immediate release and return to Brosius of seven checks totaling US$212,704.36 held in escrow at Afriland Bank.

Beyond the monetary liability, Judge Bright explicitly authorized Brosius to pursue further legal action against MOTC for additional proceeds and alleged personal or corporate injuries, potentially exposing MOTC to further financial liability.

On the matter of ownership, the court completely dismissed MOTC’s claim to 90 percent of Ducor Petroleum. Judge Bright determined that evidence clearly demonstrated Brosius funded and invested in the enterprise, establishing him as its sole shareholder.

The ruling heavily criticized a prior audit by accounting firm PKF, which had backed MOTC’s equity claims by interpreting a 2005 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to mean that petroleum products supplied by MOTC constituted equity financing. Judge Bright rejected PKF’s finding as an erroneous departure from the plain language of the agreement, clarifying that the MOU required direct monetary financing rather than inventory supplies to acquire shares.

Furthermore, the court highlighted a complete lack of corporate documentation supporting MOTC’s claims. There were no share certificates, stock ledger entries, board resolutions, or provisions within Ducor Petroleum’s Articles of Incorporation naming MOTC as a shareholder. Issued as a stern warning to commercial entities, Judge Bright emphasized that holding an executive or managerial position within a firm does not confer equity ownership without valid legal records.

The court also dismissed a purported US$7,663,507.36 liability that PKF had assigned to Brosius. Judge Bright found no evidence that Brosius owed this sum, pointing instead to documented personal investments he made into Ducor’s infrastructure. These included fuel pumps, storage facilities, office equipment, real estate leaseholds, vehicles, and a US$338,000 operational loan facility secured in 2008 using Brosius’s personal real estate as collateral.

Judge Bright further faulted the PKF audit for disregarding key financial records—including bank statements, transfer orders, delivery orders, LPRC loading orders, and MOTC credit invoices—that had previously been subpoenaed in a criminal case where Brosius was acquitted of theft and economic sabotage. Citing that acquittal and testimony from Charles Carron confirming Brosius’s personal capital contributions, the court noted that such evidence was too substantial to ignore.

This precedent-setting ruling carries major implications for commercial operations within Liberia’s petroleum sector. By clearly distinguishing between supplying credit or products under a commercial vendor arrangement and providing financial capital to acquire equity, the decision sets a firm legal boundary for future corporate partnerships.

For now, the Special Commercial Court’s judgment requires MOTC to account for $3.24 million, invalidates its equity claims, restores Amos Brosius as the sole owner of Ducor Petroleum Inc., and leaves the door open for follow-up legal claims.