Zhongshang now plans to sell the seized properties, potentially listing them on platforms like eBay, with an expected price of up to $2.2 million for both. The company has pledged transparency in the sale process, acknowledging the public interest in Nigeria regarding the matter.
A Chinese investment company, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, has taken control of two residential properties in Liverpool, UK, belonging to Nigeria, in a bid to recover a $70 million debt owed to them.
The properties, located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, were seized in June 2024, following a December 2021 British court order permitting the company to confiscate Nigerian assets in the UK.
The judge noted that the properties were being rented out to tenants unconnected with Nigeria’s mission, making them eligible for seizure under the State Immunity Act.
The debt arises from a 2021 arbitration judgment, which awarded Zhongshang $55,675,000 in compensation, plus interest and cosits, due to a dispute involving Ogun State. The company claimed that Ogun State breached a 2001 trade agreement by revoking its entitlement to a free trade zone in 2016, leading to a dispute that resulted in the arbitration judgment.
Zhongshang now plans to sell the seized properties, potentially listing them on platforms like eBay, with an expected price of up to $2.2 million for both. The company has pledged transparency in the sale process, acknowledging the public interest in Nigeria regarding the matter.
The dispute with Zhongshang is the latest in a series of legal challenges faced by Nigeria. Recently, the same Chinese company successfully petitioned for the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets in France, following the Ogun State government’s failure to comply with a $74.5 million arbitration award.
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