In a significant legal development, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, a prominent provider of satellite television services throughout Africa, was victimised in a fraudulent foreign currency exchange transaction, resulting in a loss of N7.9 billion, according to court documents reviewed by PremiumTimes, a local media outlet in the West African country.

The failed transaction implicated Akintunde Giwa, a currency exchange broker; JNFX Limited, a currency exchange company based in England; Ashay Mervyn, a JNFX representative; and Frontier Financial Technologies Limited, with court proceedings taking place in the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales under Deputy Judge Stuart Isaacs. The judgment, delivered via email, involved multiple parties, including Matthew Bradley and Rumen Cholakov representing Mr. Giwa, and Joseph Wigley for JNFX Limited, with Mr. Mervyn and Frontier Financial Technologies Limited remaining unrepresented.

The dispute centred around a series of contracts between Multichoice Nigeria and JNFX, facilitated by Mr Giwa, for the exchange of Nigerian Naira for US dollars, amounting to a total payment of N7.9 billion by Multichoice Nigeria. The arrangements, however, resulted in no dollar payments being received by the company, culminating in a legal battle.

Court documents detailed how Multichoice Nigeria's funds were transferred to accounts designated by JNFX, through Mr. Mervyn, with expectations of corresponding dollar amounts that were never fulfilled. The situation escalated with Mr. Mervyn directing payments to a new account and ultimately failing to complete the dollar transfers as agreed.

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Notably, Mr Mervyn had previously been declared wanted by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for related offences, and a worldwide freezing order had been placed against him and Frontier, which was later discontinued.

The court examined arguments from both sides, including JNFX's contention that Mr Mervyn lacked the authority to enter into contracts on its behalf and Mr Giwa's counterargument asserting JNFX's liability for deceit. Ultimately, the court sided with Mr Giwa, granting him summary judgment for the claim of deceit against JNFX and Mr Mervyn, totalling N7.9 billion plus interest, and striking out JNFX's defence against the deceit claim.

This ruling underscores the complexities of international financial transactions and the importance of diligent oversight to prevent fraud as similar scams have recently affected other African companies like Ghanaian fintech firms Float and SDQ Financial.