P&ID: UK court orders release of $200m Guarantee to Nigeria

A London court has ordered the release of a $200m guarantee put in as security by Nigeria in the execution of the Process & Industrial Developments $10bn Arbitral Claim.

The Central Bank of Nigeria made this known on Tuesday.

The apex bank said, “Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Reserves was this morning boosted by over $200m when the London Commercial Court ordered the released of the $200n guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much discredited P&ID $10bn Arbitral Claim.

“The court also awarded a £70,000 cost in favour of Nigeria in addition to an earlier award of £1.5m.”

Speaking on the development, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said, “Due to the substantial evidence of prima facie fraud established before the Court, we are pleased that the Judge has agreed to release the guarantee.

“We are also pleased that the Court has rejected P&ID’s application to increase the guarantee, which was clearly intended to be a diversionary tactic and entirely misconceived. This release which is an accretion into the reserves will further enhance the nation’s management of the exchange rate of its domestic currency, the naira.
“This is a further and significant victory for Nigeria in our ongoing fight to overturn the US$10bn award procured through fraud and corruption by P&ID and former government officials.

“P&ID and its backers, Lismore Capital and VR Advisory, are increasingly seeing their case slip between their fingers. They continue to resort to employing delay tactics, disseminating misleading claims, and taking every step to obstruct our investigations across multiple jurisdictions.

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria will not rest until we secure justice for the people of Nigeria – no matter how long it takes. Investigations are ongoing, and we are confident that more of the truth will be revealed over the coming months.”

P&ID entered a contract with Nigeria to build a gas processing plant, and won a $6.6bn arbitration award after the 2010 deal failed.

The award had been accruing interest since 2013 amounting to $10bn, which if enforced internationally, could lead to the freezing of Nigeria’s assets.