International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Libya
Arbitration team appointed in case pitting Libyan wealth fund against Belgian prince

ICSID, the World Bank's arbitration body, will rule on asset seizures made in a case that has pitted Laurent of Belgium against the Libyan Investment Authority for almost a decade.

The New Guard
Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

Nigeria Tolu Obamuroh, Abuja's young legal eagle

Kenya Wanjiku Thiga fights rising femicide rates

Somalia Mohamed Osman, the president's economic expert

Algeria
Tribunal set up for MSC's dispute with government

A tribunal has just been created to hear the dispute between three Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) group companies and the Algerian state at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Madagascar
Paris appeals court throws out Sutter brothers' case

Fourteen years after the event, a French court has closed another chapter in the dispute between Belgian brothers Peter de Sutter and Kristof de Sutter and the state of Madagascar.

Morocco
France's Pizzorno group chooses its arbitrator in dispute with Morocco

On 29 October, French waste management group Pizzorno chose Nassib Ziadé, Chilean-Lebanese chief executive of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution, as its arbitrator in the case it has brought against the Moroccan authorities.

DRC
$20m loan at heart of Afriland arbitration case against Kinshasa

Afriland First Bank has taken the Congolese state to arbitration, accusing it of having expropriated its subsidiary in the DRC. It is also looking to find out why a $20m loan made to a company reputed to be close to the DRC authorities was, allegedly, never repaid.

South Sudan
Egyptian giant Elsewedy Electric lodges complaint against Juba

Elsewedy Electric filed a complaint against the South Sudanese Ministry of Energy and Dams with the ICSID in late September.

Nigeria
Blocks 321 and 323: KNOC and Abuja gear up for battle before ICSID

Nigeria and Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) have each picked an arbitrator to represent them before ICSID in the long-running dispute over the OLP 321 and 323 oil fields.

Tunisia
Compagnie Tunisienne de Forage in search of second wind

The state-owned Tunisian oil exploration company is keen to develop a new roadmap as the country's oil sector flounders. It has been looking for a consultancy to help with the task.

Nigeria
Korea's KNOC takes its dispute with Abuja over Blocks 321 et 323 to arbitration

After having exhausted its appeal rights in Nigeria, the Korea National Oil Corp has asked the ICSID to settle its dispute with the Nigerian state over blocks 321 and 323.

Algeria, Qatar
Consultant Tayeb Benabderrahmane takes his battle against Qatar to World Bank

The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes will hold a first sitting on 27 March in Washington, DC on the disputes between Tayeb Benabderrahmane and the Qatari authorities.

Senegal
Arbitration against State of Senegal over Sendou power plant suspended

Launched in January by Mauritian businessman Louis Claude Norland Suzor, the arbitration procedure against the State of Senegal has been at a standstill since early November.

Zimbabwe
Setback over dead Zimbabwe minister nearly derails $200m von Pezold lawsuit

The aristocratic von Pezold family nearly saw its $200 million land-seizure compensation suit collapse after they addressed court documents to a Zimbabwean minister who had died months earlier.

Guinea
Beny Steinmetz's group tries to appeal in Paris over Simandou iron arbitration

After losing to the Guinean state, which it accuses of expropriation, the Franco-Israeli billionaire's company, Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), is seeking to overturn the decision of the World Bank arbitration tribunal. It is invoking the out-of-court settlement obtained by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2019.

Tunisia
Tunis defaults on legal costs to ICSID in BFT case

Tunisia has failed to make its final payment to the World Bank arbitration tribunal, which could result in it being ordered to pay several hundred million dollars in compensation to ABCI Investments. Proceedings are unlikely to be suspended.

Congo
ICSID arbitration iron ore cases against Brazzaville ready to start

With the ICSID tribunals now constituted, Equatorial Resources and Midus Holdings' proceedings against the Congolese state will soon begin. Two other proceedings have been initiated before the ICC.

DRC, Rwanda, Uganda
How Belgian entrepreneur Alain Goetz escaped UN sanctions

Just days before being placed under US sanctions, Belgian businessman Alain Goetz managed to avoid UN sanctions. UN investigators suspect him of playing an active role in the illicit trade in gold mined in conflict zones of eastern DR Congo.