By Adedapo Adesanya
The foreign reserves of Nigeria received a boost of $200 million on Tuesday after a Commercial Court in England ordered the release of the guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much-discredited $10 billion arbitral claims between the country and Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in an announcement today, said the country has received the money, which is expected to increase the FX reserves.
As at the time of filing this report, Business Post gathered that Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $35.7 billion and with this addition, it would jump to $35.9 billion.
“Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Reserves was this morning boosted by over $200 million when the London Commercial Court ordered the release of the $200 million guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much discredited P&ID $10 Billion Arbitral Claim,” the CBN said in a tweet via its verified Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.
The court also awarded a £70,000 cost in favour of Nigeria in addition to an earlier award of £1.5 million, which equally boost the nation’s foreign funds.
Business Post had reported that Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited was to make the payment of more than £1.5 million to Nigeria within 21 days to cover legal costs in an ensuing legal battle between both parties.
This followed a September 4 decision by Mr Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, which granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.
Commenting on the outcome, the CBN Governor, Mr 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 $10 billion 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.”
P&ID, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands, had won a $9.6 billion arbitration award against the Nigerian government after the collapse of a 2010 gas project. The award had been accruing interest since 2013 and is now worth more than $10 billion.
Nigeria has now successfully sought the right to appeal a previous ruling that would have converted the arbitration award to a judgment, which would make it easier for P&ID to seize the country’s assets.
Dipo Olowookere