Latest development Jun 20, 2024
A.D. Trade registered its U.S. judgment in the Southern District of New York.
The award
- Amount awarded
- 2017 award: €45.69M in damages with interest at 10.3%, plus €385,119 in fees and $157,402 in costs. 2020 award (February 3, 2020): $5.06M in restitution plus $232,000 in costs.
- Current estimate
- U.S. judgment of about $59.8M plus interest, as registered in Delaware (A.D. Trade’s filings, August 2023). Law360 reported $54.9M.
- Award holder
- A.D. Trade Belgium S.P.R.L. (Belgian supplier of military and security equipment)
- Respondent
- Republic of Guinea
- Forum
- ICC · seat Paris · two awards (Contract Leopard, 2011, and the Elephant Protocol)
Challenges
The Paris Court of Appeal dismissed Guinea’s annulment application against the 2017 award in April 2021. Guinea did not appear in the U.S. proceedings.
Enforcement
D.D.C. default judgment confirming both awards and the 2017 French exequatur (March 31, 2023, No. 22-cv-245). D. Del. writ of attachment on Guinea’s shares in Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (September 5, 2023). A Paris property auction was set for April 6, 2023 (outcome not verified). South African court order for disclosure of Guinea’s bank assets (April 2024). Judgment registered in S.D.N.Y. (June 2024).
Recovered to date
None reported. A.D. Trade’s filings say Guinea offered a €2.5M partial payment to lift a French attachment but did not make it.
Notes
No development after June 2024 verified. Outcomes of the Paris auction and the CBG share attachment not verified.