Shell fails to get Bank accounts unfrozen, deepens 2.7bn ‘Oil Theft’ defenseJustice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of a Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday declined to vacate the interim mareva injunctiondirecting20banks to block the bank accounts of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and its subsidiaries over alleged oil theft.
The judge also summoned officials of two banks for allegedly disobeying the order made on January 25, 2021. The affected banks and their officials were Citi Bank Limited, its Company Secretary, Sola Fagbure and Chief Financial Officer, Sharaf Mohammed and United Bank For Africa (UBA) Plc, its Company Secretary, Bill Andrew Odum and Chief Financial Officer, Ebenezer Kolawole.
The court ordered the alleged contemnors to appear before it on March 29, failure which a warrant of arrest would be issued against them.
The judge made the order in a ruling on three motions in a suit marked FHC/L/ CS/52/2021, filed by Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited against SPDC and four others. Aiteo was claiming about $2.7 billion against SPDC over alleged problems with the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) pipeline it bought from the Anglo- Dutch group in 2015 and over claims that Shell undercounted its oil exports.
Joined with SPDC as respondents in the suit were Royal Dutch Shell Plc; Shell WesternSupplyandTrading Limited; Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited and Shell Nige- ria Exploration and Production Company Limited. Justice Oguntoyinbo granted the mareva injunction on January 25, 2021; directing 20 commercial banks to block SPDC and its subsidiaries’ accounts and barring Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiaries from withdrawing money from the 20 banks.
She directed the twenty banks to “ring-fence any cash, bonds, deposits, all forms of negotiable instruments to the value of $2.7 billion and pay all standing credits to the Shell companies up to the value into an interest yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the court.”
The order was sequel to Aiteo’s bid to recover from Shell, the cash equivalent of more than 16 million barrels of crude oil allegedly diverted by the oil giant. At the last hearing on March 9, the court heard three motions by Aiteo and the defendants relating to its jurisdiction, as well as motions to discharge its ex-parte orderandcommittalproceedings against the two banks.
Aiteo’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), prayed the court to first hear the committal proceedings. He added that it was “necessary that the named persons in committal proceedings (the bank officials) be present in court,” because the proceedings “attached to their person.”
He said the alleged contemnors had been served “and there’s proof of service,” adding that the quasicriminal nature of committal proceedings made their appearance a necessity. He noted that they had not filed a response.”
