Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd acquired two properties in Liverpool, UK, in June 2024, after Nigeria failed to settle a 2021 arbitration award.
The properties, located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, were seized following a British court order in December 2021, which allowed Zhongshang to claim Nigerian assets in the UK to recover an unpaid $70 million debt, with interest accruing at 2% per month.
Court documents show Zhongshang was awarded $55.7 million plus $9.4 million in interest and £2.86 million in legal costs due to a dispute originating from a 2001 trade agreement between Nigeria and China.
The issue began when Ogun State revoked Zhongshang’s free trade zone rights in 2016, a decision Zhongshang claimed breached the agreement. In 2018, Zhongshang launched arbitration proceedings in the UK, alleging that Nigerian federal agencies acted unjustly on Ogun State’s behalf and that two of its executives were expelled from Nigeria in 2016, with one reportedly detained and tortured.
This development compounds Nigeria’s legal troubles abroad, following a close escape from an $11 billion arbitration judgment in favor of Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID), which was overturned due to bribery and corruption evidence.
The Zhongshang case is more challenging, with courts in Europe, including the UK, Belgium, and France, granting orders to seize Nigerian assets, and attempts to claim sovereign immunity in the US have been unsuccessful.
A consultant for Zhongshang indicated that the firm plans to sell the Liverpool properties, valued at approximately $2.2 million, through online platforms like eBay to expedite the process. Since the properties are not classified as diplomatic or consular assets, they are susceptible to seizure.
It is not clear when Nigeria acquired these properties, but court filings show they were rented to private tenants not affiliated with Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in the UK.
In June 2024, Master Lisa Sullivan of the UK High Court ruled in favor of Zhongshang, stating that the properties, leased to residential tenants with no connections to Nigeria’s mission, could be seized under commercial purposes according to section 13(4) of the State Immunity Act.
Zhongshang has pledged transparency in the sale process and will publicly disclose the proceeds.
