BREAKING: Nigeria NOT Defrauded In OPL 245 Deal, UK Court Rules In JP Morgan Case
Nigeria’s lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase Bank for the transfer of profits from the sale of OPL 245 in 2011 was dismissed.
The Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial Court ruled on Tuesday that there was no evidence that Nigeria was deceived in the agreement.
JP Morgan was sued by the federal government on the basis of “Quincecare duty,” stating that the bank “ought to have known” that there was corruption and fraud in the $1.1 billion sale of Malabu’s whole stake in OPL 245 to Shell and Eni.
Nigeria said that JP Morgan should have prevented the payments since there were many “red flags.”
However, the bank rejected Nigeria’s claims, maintaining that all due processes were followed and money laundering checks were done, arguing that allegations of fraud only came up after a new government took over in Nigeria.
In the judgement, Sara Cockerill ruled that the Nigerian government could not prove that it been defrauded, saying it may be that with the benefit of hindsight, “JPMorgan would have done things differently” but declared that “none of these things individually or collectively amount to triggering and then breaching” the bank’s duty of care to its client.
More to follow…
