Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd., a Chinese investment organisation, is attempting to recoup arbitration decisions worth up to $70 million by selling two residential homes that were seized from Nigeria on the international marketplace eBay.
After Nigeria failed to resolve an arbitration ruling from 2021, the properties, which are located in Liverpool, United Kingdom at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, were seized in June 2024.
The properties were targeted as a result of a British court ruling from December 2021 allowing Zhongshang to confiscate Nigerian assets in the UK in order to recover the $70 million debt. As of August 2024, the debt is still outstanding, with interest accruing at a rate of two percent per month.
In a dispute arising from a 2001 trade deal between Nigeria and China, Zhongshang was given £55.7 million plus £2.86 million in legal expenses, according to court records. There was also an interest award of $9.4 million.
The dispute started in 2016 when Zhongshang’s rights to a free trade zone were withdrawn by Ogun State, which the business said went against the terms of the agreement. Zhongshang filed for arbitration against Nigeria in the UK in 2018, alleging that federal agencies in Nigeria—such as the police and immigration department—were operating without due process on behalf of Ogun State.
The company also claimed that two of its executives were kicked out of Nigeria in 2016; one of them was allegedly held captive and subjected to abuse by local law enforcement.
According to a Zhongshang consultant, the company is getting ready to put the confiscated Liverpool properties—which are estimated to be worth $2.2 million—up for sale on websites like eBay.
The consultant told Peoples Gazette, “They’ve decided to sell them through online channels like eBay, as that might attract buyers more quickly.”
The UK High Court, King’s Bench Division’s Master Lisa Sullivan upheld Zhongshang’s claim in June 2024, saying that the properties could be seized for commercial purposes as specified in section 13(4) of the State Immunity Act because they are presently leased to residential tenants unrelated to Nigeria’s mission.
Given the significant interest in the case from Nigeria, Zhongshang has promised that the sales procedure will be open and transparent, and the proceeds will be disclosed to the public. The consultant continued, “Zhongshang is committed to keeping the Nigerian people informed about the recovery process.”
Despite being owned by Nigeria, the properties are subject to seizure because they were not designated as diplomatic or consular premises. Although the exact date of the properties’ acquisition by the Nigerian government is unknown, court documents show that private tenants unrelated to Nigeria’s diplomatic post in the UK had been renting them out.
This most recent development, which occurred only months after Nigeria narrowly avoided a ruinous $11 billion arbitration verdict in favour of Process & Industrial Developments Ltd., increases the country’s legal issues abroad.
Following the discovery of evidence of bribery and corruption, that decision was reversed. But the Zhongshang case poses a more formidable obstacle, as European courts in the UK, Belgium, and France have issued enforcement orders authorising the confiscation of Nigerian assets. Even in the US, attempts to use sovereign immunity to shield Nigeria have so far been unsuccessful.