A Chinese investment group is planning to sell two residential properties seized from Nigeria on the global marketplace eBay to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards. Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd acquired the properties in Liverpool, UK, in June 2024, after Nigeria failed to settle an arbitration ruling from 2021.
The properties in question are located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road. These assets were targeted following a British court order in December 2021, which authorized Zhongshang to seize Nigerian assets in the UK to recover the $70 million debt. This amount remains unpaid as of August 2024, with interest accruing at two percent per month.
Court documents show that Zhongshang was awarded $55.7 million, along with $9.4 million in interest and £2.86 million in legal fees, due to a dispute arising from a 2001 trade agreement between Nigeria and China. The disagreement began when Ogun State revoked Zhongshang’s rights to a free trade zone in 2016, an action the company claimed breached the treaty.
In 2018, Zhongshang launched arbitration proceedings against Nigeria in the UK, accusing Nigerian federal agencies, including police and immigration authorities, of acting on behalf of Ogun State without proper legal process. The company also claimed that two of its executives were expelled from Nigeria in 2016, with one being detained and tortured by local authorities.
This development adds to Nigeria’s ongoing legal difficulties abroad, following a recent near-disaster when the country narrowly avoided an $11 billion arbitration ruling in favor of Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID). That ruling was overturned after evidence of bribery and corruption emerged. However, the Zhongshang case presents a more complex challenge, with courts in Europe, including the UK, Belgium, and France, issuing enforcement orders for the seizure of Nigerian assets. Attempts to protect Nigeria through sovereign immunity have thus far been unsuccessful, even in the United States.
A consultant associated with Zhongshang disclosed that the company is preparing to list the seized Liverpool properties for sale on platforms like eBay, with an estimated value of $2.2 million.
