On 2 April, in a significant victory for Peters & Peters’ client Mr Akintunde Giwa, the High Court held that Mr Giwa was entitled to summary judgment in the sum of Nigerian naira 7,914,209,196.50 (about £4.7 million) against JNFX Limited (a London-based foreign exchange and payment services provider) and its agent Mr Mervyn in respect of his claim against them jointly in deceit.

This is part of long-standing fraud proceedings brought by Mr Giwa, a foreign currency exchange broker based in Nigeria, on behalf of one of his clients, a Nigerian-incorporated subsidiary within the MultiChoice group of companies, a pan-African media group.

Mr Giwa had entered into a series of foreign exchange transactions with JNFX on behalf of MultiChoice for deliveries of US dollars in exchange for naira. Mr Giwa primarily dealt with Mr Mervyn in the arrangements. It is Mr Giwa’s case that JNFX failed to deliver approximately US$16 million or return the equivalent naira.

In November 2022, Mr Giwa issued these proceedings pursuing claims in deceit and for breach of contract. Mr Giwa also obtained a Worldwide Freezing Order against Mr Mervyn.

Mr Giwa’s claim for breach of contract will proceed to trial.

Commenting on the decision, Jonathan Tickner, Head of Fraud and Commercial Disputes said:

“Weak national currencies coupled with the shortage of US dollars in frontier markets create opportunities for innovation but regrettably also for fraud. The decision yet again highlights the preparedness of the UK courts to grapple with complexities and stand robust in their assistance to victims of cross-border fraud.”

The Peters & Peters team comprised Jonathan Tickner, Vlad Meerovich and Stefan Ansah. Matthew Bradley KC of 4 New Square and Rumen Cholakov of 3 Verulam Buildings were instructed as counsel.