Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd., a Chinese company, has completed the repossession of a luxury jet owned by Nigeria in Canada.
According to Peoples Gazette, Zhongshang recently obtained the change of custodian paperwork for the Bombardier 6000 BD-700-1A10 aircraft from Canadian authorities in Montreal.
This followed a Canadian court ruling that authorized the firm to seize the jet from Nigeria.
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“The court granted orders for Zhongshang to seize the plane earlier this year, but the change of custody from Nigeria to Zhongshang was only recently concluded,” a person familiar with Zhongshang’s activities said anonymously.
“Zhongshang will not stop seizing Nigeria’s assets worldwide until the last cent of the arbitration awards has been paid.”
According to the report, Judge David Collier of the Superior Court of Quebec dismissed Nigeria’s objections to retaining ownership of the aircraft on March 21, 2024.
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The aircraft, a Bombardier 6000 BD-700-1A10, was initially purchased for $57 million by fugitive Dan Etete after he secured over $350 million from the corrupt sale of the OPL 245 oil field in 2010.
Nigeria first seized the jet from Etete in 2016 and detained it in Dubai. It was later flown to Canada on May 29, 2020, as revealed by flight tracking websites, where Nigeria promptly obtained a court order to seize and hold it at Montreal’s main airport.
A Canadian firm, Tibit, initially sought ownership of the aircraft, but Canadian courts upheld Nigeria’s control over it.
However, in 2023, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd. moved to seize the jet while enforcing its arbitration awards of over $70 million against Nigeria.
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Judge Collier criticized Nigeria’s argument that it could not respond to the lawsuit due to the February-March 2023 general elections as frivolous and unacceptable.
The judge also dismissed Nigeria’s claim of sovereign immunity, which had been previously addressed by arbitration panels and courts in the UK.
An appellate court in the U.S. has similarly ruled that Nigeria cannot claim sovereign immunity against Zhongshang’s recovery of its arbitration judgment.
With this latest development, Zhongshang has successfully seized Nigerian assets in the UK, France, and Canada. The firm is also reportedly anticipating additional seizures in Belgium and the U.S. in the near future.
The dispute originated from a conflict between Zhongshang and Ogun State. The Chinese firm alleged that Ogun State violated a 2001 trade treaty between Nigeria and China by rescinding its rights to a free trade zone in 2016.
Despite losing challenges against Chinese investors in at least five countries, Nigeria has consistently denied any wrongdoing in these lawsuits.
