Chinese Investors Seize Nigerian Guest Houses in Liverpool

(iexclusivenews) – Chinese investors have taken control of Nigerian guest houses in Liverpool, UK, as part of an effort to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards from Nigeria.

The properties are now set to be listed for sale on the global online marketplace eBay.

Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, the Chinese investment group, took possession of the properties in June 2024.

This action followed Nigeria’s failure to settle an arbitration judgment handed down in 2021.

The properties in question are located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, Liverpool.

The seizure was authorized by a December 2021 British court order, which empowered Zhongshang executives to confiscate Nigerian assets in the UK to recover the $70 million payment.

As of August 20, 2024, this amount remained outstanding, with an additional two percent monthly interest accrual.

Details of the Chinese Investors Arbitration Case

The arbitration case dates back to a dispute between Zhongshang and Ogun State in Nigeria. Zhongshang was awarded $55,675,000 plus interest of $9,400,000 and costs of £2,864,445 as of the arbitration verdict on March 26, 2021.

The dispute arose from Ogun State’s alleged violation of a 2001 trade treaty between Nigeria and China.

Zhongshang claimed that its rights to a free trade zone were rescinded in 2016, leading to significant financial losses.

In 2018, Zhongshang brought the case before an arbitration panel in the UK, alleging that Nigeria allowed its federal organs, including the police and immigration authorities, to be deployed by Ogun State without due process.

The case also involved allegations of mistreatment, with two Zhongshang executives reportedly expelled from Nigeria between mid and late 2016, one of whom was allegedly detained and tortured by the police.

The case has added to Nigeria’s legal troubles, coming just months after the country narrowly escaped a similar arbitration decision that could have cost over $11 billion.

That case, involving a consortium called P&ID, was dismissed after it was revealed that P&ID’s owners were involved in bribery and corruption.

However, the Zhongshang case appears to be different. Several European courts have already granted enforcement orders in the UK, Belgium, France, and other countries, where Nigerian-owned assets are being tracked down.

An appellate panel recently declined to grant Nigeria sovereign immunity protection over Zhongshang’s recovery efforts in the United States.

Sale of the Nigerian guest houses In Liverpool 

A consultant working with Zhongshang revealed that the company plans to sell the two Liverpool houses, including on eBay, where they expect to fetch up to $2.2 million.

“They said the value of both properties should be around $2.2 million, so they already put together a plan to sell them to willing buyers,” the consultant said under anonymity.

Although the properties were owned by Nigeria, they were seized because they were not listed as diplomatic or consular assets.

This online news media learned that the current occupants of the properties had no ties to the Nigerian mission in the UK.

It remains unclear when Nigeria acquired these assets, but a senior judge noted that Nigerian officials had regularly rented out both places to guests.

In her ruling on June 14, 2024, Master Lisa Sullivan of the UK High Court, King’s Bench Division, stated:

“The properties are currently used for the purpose of leases to residential tenants unconnected with Nigeria and its mission. Those are commercial purposes for the purpose of this ruling.”