A commercial court in London has ordered the release of the $200m guarantee put in place as security for the stay of execution granted Nigeria for the appeal filed against the judgment of Justice Christopher Butcher for the execution of the arbitral award of $10bn in favour of Process & Industrial Development, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands.
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this on Tuesday.
Emefiele said the ruling follows the establishment of prima facie fraud before the court.
He 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 while ensuring monetary and price stability.
“This is a further and significant victory for Nigeria in our ongoing fight to overturn the $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 FRN 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.”
The court also rejected P&ID’s application to increase the guarantee.
