September 2006
How litigation became a priceless commodity
French bank BNP Paribas is being sued in the US federal courts by a hedge fund over the financing of contracts for oil from Congo-Brazzaville. Rather than settling out of court, BNP says it will fight the lawsuit all the way. Felix Salmon reports on a grey area of black gold.
INTERNATIONAL BANKS ARE well aware that there is always a risk that they will be taken to task by the authorities of one of the countries in which they operate. They also know that the risks (and rewards) are bigger in the US than anywhere else.
So it might not seem particularly unusual that French bank BNP Paribas is headed to trial in New York, on charges relating to a series of oil prepayment contracts it entered into with respect to shipments of oil from the Republic of the Congo – that is, Congo-Brazzaville, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa, formerly Zaire). According to the complaint, BNP’s actions amount to a criminal conspiracy designed to prevent Congo’s creditors from being able to attach Congolese oil shipments and collect on their debts.
What is unusual – unprecedented, in fact – is that the case against BNP is being...
You must be a Level 2 subscriber to access this archived content.
If your subscription includes access to the archive, please log in now to view.
To gain access to this content visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
Subscribe online now and save up to 30% on your subscription.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
Level 1:
- Online access to the past 12 months content
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Level 2:
- Exclusive access to euromoney.com - Read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 2000
- 12 monthly issues of Euromoney magazine
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe