Monrovia – Former Lone Star Captain, Anthony Laffor, has denied allegations of being indebted to two banks in South Africa. The former Mamelodi Sundowns forward was reportedly behind on FNB and Nedbank loans and was about to lose his cars and house.
By Jaheim T. Tumu- [email protected]
According to several South African news outlets, Laffor failed to pay his three loans from FNB and Nedbank. The reports added that FNB and Nedbank applied for default judgments against the former Lone Star midfielder at the Johannesburg High Court on 18 August.
According to the court papers, Laffor was loaned R935 000 on 9 July 2018 to buy his Ford Everest 2.2 TDCI XLT 2018 model and was expected to pay R11 500 monthly for 69 months and over R122 000 final instalment on 25 July 2024. FNB allegedly took Laffor to court after he failed to make payments, failed to return the vehicle on April 1, and is under R90 000 in arrears.
“The defendant is in arrears as of 18 August 2021 in an amount of R88 571.48 with the total outstanding balance amounting to R479 221.53,” read the papers. Nedbank alleges they gave Laffor and his partner Anita Tshabalala a R2 million loan for their Edenvale property in Gauteng as surety, and the pair agreed to pay R22 000 monthly for 240 months.
The publication adds that Laffor and his partner last paid the bank on 28 October 2020, and the bank was preparing to auction his R2.4 million house. “The current estimated value of the mortgaged property is R2.4 million, made up of a land valuation of R450 000 and improvements valued at R1.950 000,” read the papers.
The midfielder confirmed that he got loans with the banks and has briefed his legal team to deal with the cases as he was surprised when they took him to court. “It’s a small amount my brother I can afford to pay them. The problem is the car you are talking about was involved in an accident when my wife was driving it. I don’t know what happened after that, but I will pay the balance,” he said.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns star was allegedly granted a loan for R488 000 on his 2019 Mazda CX5 2.5L and was expected to pay just under R10 000 per month in 72 months and owed over R35000 in arrears as of March 2021. “The first defendant has breached the provisions of the instalment agreement in that no instalments have been paid by the defendant since 31 December 2020,” read the papers. The bank also says it gave the former Liberian International R100 000 overdraft, and the last payment of R3000 was made on 8 December 2020.
But in response to the allegations, Laffor told reporters that he is not indebted to any bank in South Africa. Said the former Lone Star Captain, “I am one of the few Liberians who can travel to South Africa at any time because I am a free man who lived there for over 18 years.”
He stated during the Liberia recent match against South Africa in Johannesburg, if he was indebted to a bank, an arrest warrant was going to be issued against him. Laffor disclosed that his properties are well secured in South Africa with no one after them. “Recently with the national team, I took a few players of Lone Star to my house in South Africa, and they saw it for themselves,” he stated.
Laffor, however, denied reports of being broke and is venturing into politics to maintain his status. ” I have two houses and business in Montserrado so I’m not as broke as others are thinking, he said.