Nigeria sues JP Morgan for $875 million

shakirudeen taiwo

January 19, 2018 3:26 PM

JP Morgan transfers $800 million to accounts controlled by convicted money launder, Dan Etete.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria filed a $875 million suit against its escrow account holder JP Morgan Chase for allegedly transferring $800 million of the procurement for OPL 245 to

This is according to reports by Reuters whose journalists recently saw the filing made in London November last year.

In widely covered media reportage, its been revealed that dutch oil giant Shell and Italian explorer Eni had connived with officials under president Goodluck Jonathan’s government to purchase OPL 245 for a cheap $1.1 billion - a third of its real value, with Malabu Oil poised as owner in order to siphon the money as presidential campaign drew near.

Sunday Times reports the Nigerian government declared the arrangement a sham.

Chief Dan Atete, former oil minister under General Sani Abacha’s regime in the 1990s awarded the lucrative block to his fronted company Malabu Oil but has since been charged for money laundering in France and is at large.

In its suit filed in London courts last year, the Nigerian government accused JP Morgan of being “grossly negligient” and not conducting thorough due diligence.

"If the defendant acted with reasonable care and skill and/or conducted reasonable due diligence it would or should have known or at least suspected... that it was being asked to transfer funds to third parties who were asking to misappropriate the funds from the claimant and/or that there was a significant risk that this was the case," the filing read, according to Reuters.

However, a spokesperson for JP Morgan refuted the accusation stating that the American bank "considers the allegations made in the claim to be unsubstantiated and without merit."

shakirudeen taiwo