International arbitrations often involve large amounts of money concerning, on occasion, indications of illegality, including criminal activity, such as the bribing of public officials and the transfer of criminally derived money or other assets. What arbitrators can and should do when they have some awareness of such illegal activity has recently become the subject of commentaries and analyses, notably in a decision by an English court of first instance that examined and set aside a massive arbitration award against Nigeria.

In Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), decided on Oct. 23, 2023 by Justice Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court of the High Court of Justice in London, two arbitration awards (on the merits and on quantum) totaling $11 billion were denied enforcement as violative of Section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996. The court denied enforcement of the awards because they were “obtained by fraud . . . and [because] the way they were procured was contrary to public policy.”