Ghana to pay $3 million legal fees of Trafigura in addition to judgement debt – UK Court

The Government of Ghana is set to pay another judgement fee after a court in the United Kingdom (UK) awarded a $140 million arbitral against Ghana for the termination of a power deal with GPGC, a subsidiary of international commodities company, Trafigura, in 2021.

Ghana has been ordered by the court to pay the full value of the Early Termination Payment of $134,348,661 together with the “Mobilisation, Demobilization and preservation and maintenance costs” of the value.

Not only is the Government of Ghana (GoG) going to pay the $134,348,661, but the court has also ordered Ghana to pay all the interest that has accrued from it.

The court also asked the government to pay the cost of the arbitration and the legal fees of GPGC, which amounted to over $3 million.

Below is the full order of the UK court to the government of Ghana and all the monies the government is to pay:

On the basis of the submissions, facts, and matters in the record before it, the Tribunal finds and hereby awards as follows:

1. DECLARES that the EPA has been validly terminated by GPGC on account of GoG's repudiatory conduct;

2. ORDERS GOG to pay to GPGC the full value of the Early Termination Payment, together with Mobilization, Demobilization and preservation and maintenance costs in the amount of US$ 134,348,661, together also with interest thereon from 12 November 2018 until the date of payment, accruing daily and compounded monthly, at the rate of LIBOR for six-month US dollar deposits plus six per cent (6%).

3. ORDERS GOG to pay US$ 309,877.74 in respect of the Costs of the Arbitration, together with US$ 3,000,000 in respect of GPGC's legal representation and the fees and expenses of its expert witness, together with interest on the aggregate amount of US$3,309,877.74 at the rate of LIBOR for three-month US dollar deposits, compounded quarterly.

4. DISMISSES GOG's counterclaim for an Early Termination Payment in its entirety.

5. All and any other claims and (sic) of whatsoever nature are hereby dismissed.

Ghana's Attorney General's delay tactics frustrated by the English courts as oil trader, Trafigura, moves to sell Ghana's assets in the UK. Trafigura won a ~$140m arbitral award against Ghana for the termination of a power deal by the State in 2021. pic.twitter.com/b67Diszirs

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) October 18, 2023