JP Morgan Chase Corners Nigeria
I used to be one. It is a great profession. It prepares your life because if you put what you do in your personal life, the experience will help. I am yet to see any field or career that prepares better: discipline, focus, responsibility, etc. You must check all.
When the Nigerian government sued JP Morgan Chase for $875 million over the Malabu oil scandal, I was suspicious. I wrote "I just hope that a British judge does not throw this case out".
It is always hard to win such cases because Nigeria approved for its money to be moved. Telling JP Morgan Chase that it ought to have known corruption was happening was not obviously enforceable. Do you expect the bank to not honor the signature of Nigeria [ via its President], its client? This is like you writing a cheque to pay someone and your bank says you cannot.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
But the bank was even smarter:
The UK anti-money laundering unit, Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), gave authorisation for the transfer of $875 million to accounts linked to a former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer in the controversial Malabu scandal, JP Morgan has said.
The shocking revelation is contained in High Court documents filed by U.S. banking giant, JP Morgan Chase Bank, last week, seen by PREMIUM TIMES London partner, Finance Uncovered.
Simply, if UK government approved it, UK court cannot punish the bank. The case is largely over for Nigeria unless Nigeria wants to include UK in the suit. That reminds me of that proverb: if you do not fix your house, no one will. UK will not save Nigeria from its “fantastically corrupt” lifestyle.
We discussed the issue on this platform few months ago, but we live in a strange country. The government is always in a hurry to waste money on a wild goose chase, and when the government is even reluctant to waste the money, some creatures would accuse the government of complicity. This is a country like no other!
If they can, let the wastages cease, there's really no winnable case in that Malabu circus; it has always been more or less about some disgruntled elements raising dusts here and there. We do not know how to win cases, but we can atleast cut our losses by not chasing shadows.