The British Virgin Islands (BVI) Commercial Court has granted Access Bank Plc a judgment exceeding $220 million against Nigerian businessman Dr. Ambrosie Bryant Chukwueloka Orjiako, his wife Igra Orjiako, and eight BVI-registered companies linked to him.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Indira Mithani on October 1, 2025, concludes a decade-long dispute over a defaulted oil and gas loan and sets a precedent for cross-border debt enforcement.
The dispute originates from a 2013 syndicated loan facility worth over $200 million extended to Shebah Exploration & Petroleum Company Limited (SEPCOL), a Nigerian firm controlled by Orjiako. Lenders, including Afrexim Bank, Diamond Bank Plc (now part of Access Bank), and Skye Bank, provided the funds with Orjiako offering a personal guarantee. SEPCOL’s default prompted Access Bank, as Diamond Bank’s successor, to secure an English Commercial Court judgment against Orjiako for the unpaid debt and accrued interest.
To enforce the judgment, Access Bank pursued eight BVI companies Abbeycourt Energy Services (BVI) Ltd, Plumage Management Ltd, Pursley Resources Ltd, Neville Investment Management Ltd, Sinclair Commercial Ltd, and three others which hold substantial stakes in Shebah Petroleum Development Company (BVI), a major shareholder of Seplat Energy Plc, listed on the Nigerian Exchange and London Stock Exchange.
Between 2014 and 2017, following SEPCOL’s default, Orjiako allegedly transferred ownership of these companies to his wife. Access Bank argued these were sham transfers designed to shield assets from creditors. The bank maintained that the companies remained beneficially owned by Orjiako or that the transfers were void under Section 81 of the BVI’s Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1961 (CLPA) as fraudulent transactions.
Prior to the judgment, Access Bank obtained a worldwide freezing order, disclosure mandates, and an interim receivership to prevent asset dissipation. These measures enabled the bank to trace ownership and compile what Justice Mithani described as an “overwhelming” evidentiary case.
The summary judgment hearing, conducted over two days in July 2025, bypassed a full trial due to the strength of the evidence. Justice Mithani rejected the defendants’ plea for a trial, ruling that although allegations of fraud demand caution, summary judgment is appropriate where the evidence is “clear and compelling” and the defence is “fanciful or unsupported.” She criticized the Orjiakos’ bare denials as lacking contemporaneous evidence or a credible plan for trial disclosure, calling a full hearing a “pointless waste of time.”
Key Findings of the Court:
Legal experts describe the ruling as a significant precedent for piercing offshore corporate veils in fraud and asset tracing cases, offering clarity on beneficial ownership, fraudulent conveyances, and the use of summary judgment in complex cross-border disputes.
Access Bank, led by Carey Olsen partners Richard Brown and associate Sean Kinney, with Steven Thompson KC of XXIV Old Buildings as lead counsel, now aims to enforce the judgment against the BVI-based assets to recover the debt.
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