Nigerian tycoon Michael J. Prest sues Zambia's central bank for $40 million over Investrust collapse

The Caribbean bank owned by Nigerian oil trader Michael Prest has filed for judicial review against the Bank of Zambia, seeking $40 million over the collapse of a lender in which it says it was never allowed to register its shares.

Bank of Nevis International lodged the claim on July 22 against the central bank, Zambia's finance minister and its attorney general, alleging breaches of the Banking and Financial Services Act 2017. The hearing is expected in 2027.

The filing follows three failed attempts by the central bank to stop the case reaching court. Justice Charles Zulu of the Lusaka High Court rejected an application by the Bank of Zambia to remove itself from the proceedings at the end of June. The court had already dismissed two earlier applications in December 2025, in which the central bank sought to have the litigation set aside and struck out as an abuse of process.

The shareholding that was never registered

BONI acquired 24.8% of Investrust Bank Plc between March 2021 and November 2022, buying through a licensed broker on the Lusaka Securities Exchange. The purchase made it the second-largest shareholder in the Zambian lender.

The bank says it then spent two years asking the central bank and the exchange to register the holding, and that both ignored the requests. It alleges the Bank of Zambia subsequently declined to recognise the shareholding altogether and placed Investrust into liquidation in 2024, leaving BONI with a stake it says was rendered worthless.

BONI has described the delay and rejection as "unlawful, negligent and calculated". Its claim seeks $40 million plus costs for the lost opportunity to restructure or recapitalise the bank before it failed.

The central bank's position

The Bank of Zambia did not respond to a request for comment on the new filing.

It set out its position on the liquidation in a statement on July 14, issued in response to separate claims brought by former Investrust employees. The central bank said it had taken possession of Investrust under the Banking and Financial Services Act on grounds of insolvency, meaning the lender did not hold sufficient assets to meet its obligations as they fell due. It said it remains committed to conducting the liquidation transparently, fairly and lawfully, and to addressing all claims in line with legal requirements.

The lawyer

BONI has instructed Robert Amsterdam, founder and managing partner of Amsterdam and Partners, a firm operating from London and Washington.

Amsterdam specialises in human rights and public international law and has a record of acting against states. He represented Mikhail Khodorkovsky against the Russian government in the Yukos affair, acted for former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a challenge to the government in Bangkok, and brought a criminal case in 2024 accusing Apple of trading in minerals sourced from conflict areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He has argued that the central bank's three unsuccessful attempts to prevent the case being heard reflect the strength of the underlying claim rather than any procedural defect.

Who Prest is

Michael J. Prest was born in Delta State and built his career in oil trading, working as a leading trader at Phibro Energy and Vitol before becoming chief executive of Marc Rich Investments under the late commodities financier Marc Rich.

He founded Petrodel Resources, which took exploration licences in Tanzania and Zambia from 2006 and has more recently moved into renewable energy through a partnership with the Canadian solar developer SkyPower. He acquired the banking operations of Bank of Nevis International at the end of 2019 through a Nevis-registered vehicle, and the institution was rebranded BONI in 2023. It has since entered a trade finance arrangement with Afreximbank linking African and Caribbean markets.

Prest has kept a home on Nevis since 1996 and is described as one of the island's larger private employers. He is no stranger to litigation against regulators. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal ruled on June 2 that the island's Regulator of International Banking had no lawful authority to impose $120,000 in fines on BONI, five years after the penalties were levied.

He was also the defendant in Prest v Petrodel Resources, the 2013 United Kingdom Supreme Court decision that remains a leading authority on when courts may look through corporate structures to identify who beneficially owns an asset.

None of the allegations in the Zambian filing has been tested in court. The Bank of Zambia has not filed a substantive defence, and no finding has been made against it.