James Nolan, a British national who is facing trial over his involvement in the Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) fraud has been arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).
Gatekeepers News reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in August 2020, arraigned Nolan, a director in the P&ID Limited, alongside Lurgi Consult Limited and others, in a $9.6 billion money laundering case.
Nolan was granted bail but failed to appear in court for trial after he perfected his bail conditions.
In September 2022, a federal high court in Abuja revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for Nolan’s arrest.
The Briton was arrested by the INTERPOL on January 27 while on a visit to his wife in Italy, according to the New Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs will commence Nolan’s extradition to Nigeria to continue trial.
Paul Erokoro, counsel to Nolan, said he also heard about his client’s arrest.
“There is a report that James Nolan was arrested but the EFCC is actually in a better position to confirm. They might have heard from INTERPOL,” NAN quoted Erokoro as saying.
“But I have not spoken to him (Nolan) and I don’t have firsthand confirmation but I have heard about the report.”
Background
P&ID had agreed with Nigeria in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, but the company said the deal collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.
Maintaining that Nigeria breached the terms of the contract, P&ID took a legal recourse and secured an arbitral award against the country.
On January 31, 2017, a tribunal ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre-and post-judgment interest at 7 percent.
Following the judgement, Nigeria applied for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.
The application was granted by Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, in September 2020.
Nigeria countered the gas deal as a fraudulent scheme, claiming that P&ID officials resorted to bribery to secure the contract. However, P&ID vehemently denied these allegations and accused the Nigerian government of propagating “false allegations and wild conspiracy theories.”
In a March trial, Nigeria further alleged that the contract was obtained through dishonest means, including bribery and perjury. They contended that the arbitration award now escalated to $11 billion due to accrued interests, should be invalidated.
On October 2023, Robin Knowles, justice of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, upheld Nigeria’s prayer on the ground that the award was obtained by fraud.
In a final judgment delivered on December 21, Knowles ruled that the award against Nigeria should be thrown out immediately.
