Credit Bureau Sues CBL for US$1.18M | News

Prime Credit Reference Bureau, Inc. has sued the Central Bank of Liberia for more than US$1.18 million, alleging that the country’s banking regulator licensed the company to operate a credit reference bureau, allowed it to make substantial investments, but subsequently failed to provide information the company says was essential to getting the business running.

The damages-for-wrong action, filed before the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court in Montserrado County, places the CBL and Governor Henry F. Saamoi among the defendants. Prime Credit is represented by its Managing Director and CEO, Eugene Bedell. 

Prime Credit is asking the court to award US$550,953 in damages and another US$630,000 in alleged lost revenue covering January through September 2026. It is also seeking pre-judgment interest of six percent calculated from January 20, 2026, plus litigation costs and any additional relief the court considers appropriate. 

The allegations have not been tested in court, and the CBL has yet to file its response.

Reached by the Daily Observer for comment, a CBL spokesperson said the Bank had not yet received the court filing.

“The CBL has not received the court document. Once we receive the court document, the CBL legal team will make adequate representation,” the spokesperson said.

At the center of the dispute is a license Prime Credit says the CBL granted it on November 11, 2025, authorizing the company to operate a credit reference bureau in Liberia.

According to the complaint, Prime Credit subsequently made “significant financial and operational investment” in reliance upon the license and representations from the CBL regarding the commencement of its operations. The company says the Bank inspected its premises, equipment and investments before approving the operation. 

But Prime Credit alleges that after receiving the license, it encountered difficulty obtaining information from the CBL necessary to operate the credit bureau.

The company says it communicated with the office of the CBL Governor over what it describes as the Bank’s failure to cooperate following issuance of the license. According to the complaint, Prime Credit specifically requested historical data covering five years of loan applications up to the date of its letter.

It says that information was necessary to form part of the credit information required for the bureau’s operations. 

The complaint takes a more significant turn over what Prime Credit says happened afterward.

According to the company, after it had received its license and incurred substantial expenses, the CBL informed its lawyer that the Bank “does not have the legal authority to regulate the conditions under which banks share customer credit information,” consistent with its supervisory, prudential and consumer protection mandates.

Prime Credit further alleges that the CBL said it did not have the authority to issue the license in the first place. 

That contention appears central to the company’s case because Prime Credit argues that it committed significant resources in reliance on a license issued by the country’s banking regulator.

The company also alleges that the CBL subsequently issued a Request for Proposals for a credit bureau system and informed Prime Credit that it would have to compete in the process.

Prime Credit contends that such a move would violate Section 3.2 of the CBL regulation governing internal credit reference arrangements.

The regulation, as reproduced in the complaint, provides that the CBL may maintain an existing credit reference unit within its structure “pending the licensing of a privately operated credit reference bureau or bureau.”

It further provides that once the Central Bank determines that a privately operated credit reference bureau is capable of providing such services in Liberia, the CBL “shall cease its credit reference bureau operations.” 

Prime Credit therefore argues that after licensing the company, the CBL failed to provide information without which it could not effectively operate.

“The Defendant knows that Plaintiff cannot operate the credit reference bureau without the requested data,” the complaint alleges.

Prime Credit further accuses the CBL of “intentionally” refusing to provide the information and claims that the alleged breach was detrimental to its operations. 

The filing does not establish those allegations as fact. They represent Prime Credit’s account of the dispute, which the CBL will have an opportunity to challenge before the court.

A writ of summons commands the CBL to answer Prime Credit’s complaint on or before September 17, 2026, and to appear before the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court on September 21 at 10 a.m. The writ warns that failure to appear could result in judgment by default. 

With the CBL saying it has not yet received the court documents, its substantive response to Prime Credit’s allegations remains pending.