The federal republic of Nigeria has instituted legal action in a London court against American banking and financial service group, JP Morgan Chase, claiming over $1.7 billion in damages over its role in the disputed 2011 Malabo oil deal, as the hearing commences on Wednesday.
The civil suit which was filed at the British courts in 2017, is in relation to the $1.3 billion acquisition of an oil block prospecting license OPL 245 by oil majors, Shell and Eni, which has also been at the center of an ongoing legal battle in Milan and the UK.
The Federal Government had earlier accused JP Morgan of gross negligence in its decision to transfer funds paid by Shell and Eni into an escrow account to a company controlled by Nigeria’s former Minister for Petroleum, Dan Etete, instead of paying into a government account and without conducting sufficient due diligence
According to Reuters, the damages being sought for by Nigeria include the estimated $875 million paid in 3 installments in Etete’s Malabu Oil account, plus interest, taking the total to over $1.7 billion, with the Federal Government asking JP Morgan to make these transfers as part of the oilfield sale.
A Nigerian spokesman said that JP Morgan was on clear notice that the payments put its customer, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at risk of being defrauded which was what, indeed, happened.
A spokesman for the bank said, “J.P. Morgan is confident that it acted appropriately in making these payments, which were authorized by senior representatives of the Nigerian government, and only processed following extensive engagement with law enforcement and other agencies and courts. We will robustly defend against this claim.’’
The 2 oil majors involved in the deal, Shell and Eni, were not listed as parties to the lawsuit instituted by Nigeria at the London High Court.
Although declining to comment on the case, Eni in an email said, “Eni was finally acquitted following the trial in Milan since there was no case, so we have nothing to add with regards to the OPL 245 deal and to the London trial, which doesn’t involve Eni.”
