Chinese firm strikes again, impounds another Nigerian jet in Canada

A Chinese company, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, has seized another Nigerian jet, a Bombardier 6000, in Canada. This latest confiscation adds to the growing list of Nigerian assets taken by the firm, which has already seized three presidential aircraft in France due to a legal dispute with Ogun state government. The ongoing legal battle stems from an arbitration award of over $70 million against Nigeria, leading Zhongshang to pursue enforcement by confiscating assets abroad.

The seized assets include properties in Liverpool, a Dassault Falcon 7X in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330, with the Bombardier 6000 in Canada being the most recent. Judge David Collier of the Superior Court of Quebec dismissed Nigeria’s bid to retain ownership of the Bombardier 6000 on March 21, 2024. The jet, acquired for $57 million by Dan Etete, a fugitive linked to the corrupt sale of the OPL 245 oil field in 2010, was among the assets targeted by Zhongshang. In a recent development, Zhongshang released one of the three presidential aircraft in France as a gesture of goodwill ahead of a meeting between Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and French President Emmanuel Macron. Tinubu travelled to France on Monday, August 19, aboard the released Airbus A330 despite ongoing controversies surrounding its purchase.