JP Morgan Chase Bank (JP Morgan) says Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s attorney general, is contradicting himself on the OPL 245-related case in the UK commercial court.
The bank made its opening submissions for trial at the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial Court.
According to TheCable, the bank said the Malami position is contradictory to the case being presented by the claimant, which is the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN).
Nigeria is suing JP Morgan Chase for its involvement in the resolution agreement and subsequent payments made in relation to the award of OPL 245 to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd.
The country is seeking a compensation of $1.7 billion.
Federal government’s pleading, made before the UK court, claims that JP Morgan and Mohammed Bello Adoke, Nigeria’s minister of justice, were involved in a “fraudulent and corrupt scheme” which led to the resolution agreement and payments.
However, in its opening submission for trial, JP Morgan denied any wrongdoing on its part and said the claimant does not have substantial evidence to prove that Adoke was involved in a fraudulent scheme.
According to the 123-page opening submission seen by TheCable, JP Morgan said Nigeria “has no direct evidence in support of its case that there was a fraudulent and corrupt scheme as alleged” against Adoke and the bank.
