Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, the Chinese firm involved in legal face-off with Nigeria over alleged contract breach by Ogun State government, has concluded plans to list two residential structures in Liverpool it seized from the country for sale on global online marketplace eBay.
They appear hell-bent on recovering their money from their business counterpart in Nigeria as it races to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards.
Zhongshang Fucheng took possession of two buildings linked to the Nigerian government in Liverpool, United Kingdom, in June 2024, years after Nigeria failed to reach an agreement over an arbitration judgement handed down in 2021.
The properties, 15, Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49, Calderstones Road, Liverpool, were targeted after a December 2021 British court order gave Zhongshang executives the authority to confiscate Nigerian assets in the UK to recover the $70 million payment, which remained outstanding as of August 20, 2024, with two per cent monthly interest accruals.
The firm was awarded $55,675,000 plus interest of $9,400,000 and costs of £2,864,445 as of the date of the arbitration judgement on
Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, the Chinese firm involved in legal face-off with Nigeria over alleged contract breach by Ogun State government, has concluded plans to list two residential structures in Liverpool it seized from the country for sale on global online marketplace eBay.
They appear hell-bent on recovering their money from their business counterpart in Nigeria as it races to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards.
Zhongshang Fucheng took possession of two buildings linked to the Nigerian government in Liverpool, United Kingdom, in June 2024, years after Nigeria failed to reach an agreement over an arbitration judgement handed down in 2021.
The properties, 15, Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49, Calderstones Road, Liverpool, were targeted after a December 2021 British court order gave Zhongshang executives the authority to confiscate Nigerian assets in the UK to recover the $70 million payment, which remained outstanding as of August 20, 2024, with two per cent monthly interest accruals.
The firm was awarded $55,675,000 plus interest of $9,400,000 and costs of £2,864,445 as of the date of the arbitration judgement on March 26, 2021, court documents revealed.
The legal dispute stems from a 2016 decision by the Ogun State Government to revoke Zhongshan’s export processing zone management contract, which resulted to a long legal battle that has now spilled over into international courts.
The company dragged Nigeria before the arbitration panel in the UK in 2018, alleging that Nigeria allowed its federal organs like the police, immigration and export processing authority to be deployed by Ogun State without due process.
According to court documents, two Zhongshang executives were expelled from Nigeria between mid and late 2016, with one of them allegedly detained and tortured by the police.
Several European courts have already issued enforcement orders in the UK, Belgium, France, and other countries, allowing Nigerian-owned jets and other assets to be tracked and seized.
Meanwhile, an appellate panel in the United States recently declined to extend sovereign immunity protection to Nigeria, facilitating Zhongshang’s continued efforts to recover the $70 million owed.
A consultant working with Zhongshang said the company has been working to put the two Liverpool houses up for sale, including on eBay, where the source said up to $2.2 million would be asked for both.
The company is also reportedly preparing to claim Nigeria’s £20 million P&ID award in the UK.
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