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Nigeria’s foreign reserves up $200m after London court order

September 29, 2020239 views0 comments

Nigeria’s foreign reserves received yet another boost worth $200 million on Tuesday following an order from the London Commercial Court instructing the release of the $200 million guarantees put in place as security for the stay of execution granted Nigeria for the appeal filed against the judgment of Justice Butcher for the execution of the arbitral award of $10 billion in favour of Messrs. Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID).

 Ross Cranston who presided over the matter on Tuesday rejected the request of P&ID to increase the security to $400 million and instead ordered cost of seventy thousand pounds against P&ID., It will be recalled that same court, earlier in September 2020, had also granted another cost of £1.5 million against P&ID.

 Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, while commenting on the outcome of the judgment expressed pleasure that the court rejected the P&ID’s application to increase the guarantee, which he noted was clearly intended to be a diversionary tactic and entirely misconceived.

 According to Emefiele, “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. This release, which is accretion into the reserves will further enhance the nation’s management of the exchange rate of its domestic currency, the naira, while ensuring monetary and price stability.”

 In a similar vein, analysts are of the view that P&ID and its backers, Lismore Capital and VR Advisory, are increasingly fighting a lost battle, as they continue to resort to employing delay tactics, disseminating misleading claims, and taking every step to obstruct investigations across multiple jurisdictions.

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 A government source said: “The Nigerian Government is determined to 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.”

 Meanwhile, Tuesday’s order is seen as a further and significant victory for Nigeria in its determination to overturn the $10 billion award procured through fraud and corruption by P&ID and former government officials.