The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UK court

  • UK court: Volpi to pay 60% of $680m owed by firm

    The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has ordered two companies owned by the Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu and his deputy, Mr. Mofe Boyo, to pay US$680 million (N244.8 billion) to Ansbury Investments. Ansbury is owned by Mr. Gabriele Volpi.

    In a July 6 ruling, the LCIA held that Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP), British Virgin Islands, which owns 55.96 per cent of Oando Plc through a holding company, Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) Nigeria Limited, is owing Ansbury Investments Incorporated US$600 million (N216 billion).

    Ansbury Investment counsel Mr. Andrea Moja confirmed the LCIA award in a statement yesterday.

    Moja said the Arbitration Court also held that Whitmore Asset Management Limited, whose ultimate beneficial owners are Tinubu and Boyo, was also owing Ansbury Investment US$80 million (N28.8 billion). The cumulative   debt owed by the Oando chiefs to Ansbury Investment totals US$680 million.

    Documents obtained from the LCIA, which is reputed to be one of the world’s leading international institutions for commercial dispute resolution, identified the family of Volpi, a Nigerian-Italian, as the ultimate beneficial owner of Ansbury.

    The London Arbitration Court ruled that the “Third Shareholders Agreement” between the parties, is legally binding on the parties as claimed by Ansbury Investment.

    The documents indicated that in a few days, the court will pronounce on accrued interests on the debts.

    It was learnt that the ruling was communicated to the parties on July 9.

    The statement said: “The claim of Whitmore Asset Management Limited that the parties agreed to a binding Fourth Shareholders Agreement was rejected.

    “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.

    “Ocean and Oil Development Partners (Bvi) Ltd owes a debt to Ansbury Investments Inc for an amount of US$ 600 million.

    “Whitmore Asset Management Limited owes a debt to Ansbury Investments Inc for an amount of US$ 80 million.

    “This Partial Award will be followed by a Final Award in which the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) will pronounce on interests on the amounts owed and legal expenses.

    “Given the above, Ansbury Investments Inc will immediately submit an application to London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in which it will be asked to charge Whitmore Asset Management Limited for all the due interests and legal expenses as well.”

    When the disagreement broke in 2017, Ansbury had also petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May over allegation of financial mismanagement, huge indebtedness as well as falsifying its financial statement.

    In addition, Ansbury had also informed SEC that Oando’s “current liabilities as at December 31, 2016, far exceeds the current assets by N263.7 billion, confirming serious financial imbalance from the previous financial year”.

    However, Lawyers representing Tinubu and Boyo the Group Chief Executive and Deputy Group Chief Executive of Oando PLC and co-owners of Whitmore Asset Management Limited, said contrary to the claim by Ansbury Investment Counsel,  Mr. Andrea Moja, the amount owed to Ansbury Investments Inc, owned by Mr. Gabriele Volpi, is $80m, which is owed by Whitmore Asset Management Limited, while the balance of $600m is owed by Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) BVI.

    Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) BVI Ltd, is owned by all three parties Wale Tinubu, Mofe Boyo and Gabriele Volpi, hence the judgment by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) implies that Volpi as part owner of OODP BVI owes himself by virtue of his ownership in the company.

    It was learnt that had indicated that payment terms for the personal debt were being ironed out by the parties while payment terms for the $600 million owed by OODP will be determined by the LCIA.

    The dispute between Gabrielle Volpi and the principals of Oando has been ongoing for over a year. It has caused concern for companies and individuals who look for investments to grow their business via individuals in the form of equity or debt.

    Volpi, a significant shareholder in OODP invested in the company during Oando’s acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria assets.  At the time, it would have seem like the investment of a lifetime, unfortunately, shortly after the price of oil crashed, many oil and gas companies folded up.

    It was the resilience of its principals hat Oando is still alive today, industry sources said.

    The assumption would be that against this backdrop Gabrielle Volpi would wait for OODP to start to reap the rewards of its investment however he has faced near financial ruin in his home country Italy and it seems is now by any means necessary trying to recoup his investments.

    Since the upturn in commodity prices, Oando has recorded six consecutive quarters of profits.

    The company kicked off 2018 on a positive note through continued restoration of value to its shareholders via profits in the first quarter of the year.

  • Shell cannot be sued in UK for Nigerian oil spill – Court

    Shell cannot be sued in UK for Nigerian oil spill – Court

    Britain’s High Court ruled on Thursday that oil major Royal Dutch Shell cannot be sued in London courts over Nigeria oil spill allegations.

    If the High Court had ruled in favor of the two groups, other claimants against British-based multinationals could have been emboldened to pursue legal action through the British courts, some legal experts had told Reuters.

    Villagers from the Bille and Ogale communities in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region were trying to pursue oil spill allegations against the company’s Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in British courts.

    The court ruled that the suit did not establish that Shell, the parent company, had legal responsibility for SPDC’s actions.

    “The claimants have failed to demonstrate that the first threshold requirement – is there a ‘real issue’ between the claimant and the anchor defendants – is met,” the ruling stated.

    Leigh Day, a law firm representing the villagers, said it would appeal the ruling.

    SPDC’s General Manager for External Relations, Igo Weli, said the firm hoped “the strong message sent by the English court today ensures that any future claims by Nigerian communities concerning operations conducted in Nigeria will be heard in the proper local courts.”

    The Nigerian villagers argued domestic courts were unfit to hear their case, while Shell said the matter was a uniquely Nigerian issue and should be heard there.

    Shell also denied responsibility for the spills, which it said were due to sabotage and illegal refining.

     

  • Alison-Madueke returns to UK court over seized cash

    Alison-Madueke returns to UK court over seized cash

    Ex-minister to know fate on £27,000 found in her home

    Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani  Alison-Madueke will today return to the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London to answer for money laundering and bribery allegations.

    She was first arraigned in the court last October.

    Mrs Alison-Madueke was arrested along with four others by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). She was granted bail  and told to come back today for a decision to be taken on the £27,000 seized cash and other charges made against her.

    The court ruled in October 2015 that the cash can be held for six months before she is arraigned after investigations.

    The court also granted the order that she should remain in London while investigations last.

    The NCA, which leads the UK law enforcement’s fight to cut serious and organised crime, is working in league with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the probe of the former minister.

    While Mrs Alison-Madueke was battling arrest in London, her Abuja home was raided by the EFCC while her partners were stalked by the Interpol in Switzerland.

    The NCA has national and international reach and the mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to bring serious and organised

    criminals to justice.

    The Proceeds of Crime Act says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.

    “Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime, which do not require a conviction, are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers.

    The NCA found some of the ex-minister’s brothers and other business partners complicit in the money laundering allegation. She was arrested with her brothers.

    Messrs Abiye Agama and Somye Agama are Mrs Diezani siblings who operate some UK-based businesses that were hurriedly shut after the NCA and the EFCC searchlight became intense.

    The two brothers are directors of Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited, a company the authorities believe to have been used for money laundering. The other directors are Ugonna Madueke and Abu Fari.

    The company was registered in June 2013 in Manchester, but was dissolved less than two years later last  February without filing any account.

    Abiye, 33, a point man of the firm, is a computer engineer and manager. He was a director in 11 other companies. He resigned from seven of them.

     

  • UK court sees Ibori’s ‘palace’ on video

    UK court sees Ibori’s ‘palace’ on video

    A British court was shown footage on Wednesday of a palatial property built in Nigeria for jailed former governor James Ibori, complete with marble columns and a private gym that offered a glimpse into the lifestyle of Nigeria’s ruling class, Reuters reports.

    The opulent mansion staffed by cooks, maids and chauffeurs was just one of a portfolio of properties across the world worth over $10 million in total that Ibori acquired while he was governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007.

    Footage of the property at Clement Isong Street in Abuja, taken by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission when it searched the home this year, revealed a level of luxury unimaginable to most of Nigeria’s 170 million people.

    Reuters says majority of Nigerians live in ramshackle housing with little or no electricity or running water.

    The film showed a monumental facade with white marble columns two storeys high. Inside were vast reception rooms adorned with crystal chandeliers, gilded mirrors and marble-topped tables.

    The property also boasted a large private gym with a treadmill, cross-trainer and other fitness equipment. A close-up shot inside one of several marble bathrooms showed a power shower with electronic control panels.

    Last year Ibori pleaded guilty at London’s Southwark Crown Court to 10 counts of money-laundering and fraud in one of the biggest embezzlement cases seen in Britain. He is serving a 13-year term at Long Lartin maximum security prison in England.

    Shown as part of a confiscation hearing in which prosecutors are seeking court orders for Ibori’s assets to be seized, the film featured a directory of telephone extensions across the property including the “children’s parlor” and “staff house.”

    A list of staff and suppliers included multiple chauffeurs, cooks and housekeepers as well as details of how to reach the “TV man.”