British Court Rules Nigeria Not Liable for $11 Billion Damages in Failed Gas Project Due to Fraud and Corruption

London High Court Judge finds Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. acted fraudulently in 2010 gas deal, with the damages initially set to cost Nigeria a third of its foreign exchange reserves.

Judge Robin Knowles of the London High Court overturned a compensation award requiring Nigeria to pay $11 billion to British Virgin Islands-based company Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. (P&ID) over a failed 2010 gas deal.
The judge ruled that the contract was obtained through fraud, and identified three key irregularities: P&ID providing false evidence in a witness statement, the company's bribery of a Nigerian civil servant, and its improper retention of Nigeria's legal documents received during arbitration.
P&ID was awarded compensation in 2017, originally $6.6 billion but now estimated to be $11 billion with accrued interest. Its main claim was for loss of profit for the 20 years the agreement covers.
The gas contract was signed with Nigeria's government in 2010, under questionable circumstances as President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was critically ill and his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, was acting president.
The Nigerian government accused P&ID of bribery and corruption, both in securing the contract and during arbitration. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said the judgment marked a victory against 'economic conspiracies between private firms and solitarily corrupt officials'.