Two guest houses linked to the Nigerian government in Liverpool, United Kingdom that were shutdown and confiscated by a Chinese company have now been listed for sale on eBay over an unsettled $70m dispute.
The properties, identified as 15, Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49, Calderstones Road, Liverpool, were reportedly worth between £1.3m and £1.7m in June.
This incident follows a judgement by the Commercial court in the King’s Bench Division of London’s High Court of Justice which granted Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment the enforcement order.
The seizure is part of Zhongshan’s attempt to retrieve its $70 million in an arbitration award against Nigeria, which remained outstanding as of August 20, 2024, with two per cent monthly interest accruals.
The case stems from a 2013 contract signed by Zhongfu, a subsidiary of Chinese investment company Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, and the Ogun state government to develop a free trade area, with Zhongfu claiming 60 percent of the joint venture.
However, in 2016, Zhongfu alleged that Ogun backed out of the agreement and wanted to overturn their investment in the free trade zone. The company said a “campaign of illegal acts” against it ultimately forced it out of the agreement.
The investment company then filed an arbitration case against Nigeria in 2018. As verdict, a three-person arbitration panel in London awarded the company $70mn in damages to be paid by the Nigerian government in 2021.
The award has since grown to about $81mn with interest
