By Dipo Olowookere
Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Mr Adewale Tinubu, and his deputy, Mr Mofe Boyo, have been ordered by a court in the United Kingdom to pay the sum of $680 million to Mr Gabriele Volpi, a Nigerian-Italian businessman.
Specifically, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) held that the firms run by the duo, Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) and British Virgin Islands, which own 55.96 percent of Oando Plc, is indebted to Ansbury Investment Incorporated, owned by Mr Volpi.
For a time now, Oando has been having issues with Ansbury over the running of Oando Plc, which is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Last year, the company filed a petition against Oando to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which led to the suspension of Oando at the stock market.
The firm was accused of gross financial misconduct and SEC, which set up a panel to look into the allegations, found Oando guilty, leading to the suspension.
A forensic audit of Oando was ordered by SEC, but that is yet to see the light of the day.
According to a statement, “The award has been communicated to the parties on July 9, 2018 and the key terms are as follows: The claim of Whitmore Asset Management Limited that the parties agreed to a binding Fourth Shareholders Agreement was rejected.
“The Court upheld the position that the third shareholders agreement is fully and legally binding between the parties as stated by Ansbury Investments Inc. The alleged agreement by which Whitmore Asset Management Limited was to hold 60 per cent Of Ocean And Oil Development Partners (BVI) Ltd is not binding on the parties.
“Given the above, Ansbury Investments will immediately submit an application to the LCIA in which it will be asked to charge Whitmore Asset Management Limited for the interests due and legal expenses.”
Adedapo Adesanya