Bank of Nevis International (BONI), a Caribbean bank owned by Michael Prest, a Nigerian international oil trader and businessman, is pressing charges against the Zambian government, demanding $40 million (about N61.4 billion) as compensation following Zambia’s liquidation of one of its banks, Investrust, due to insolvency.
Prest’s lender said in its court filing that the Zambian financial regulator failed to recognise its 24.8 percent shareholding in Investrust before placing the bank into liquidation in 2024.
But Zambia has defended the liquidation move. The country’s central bank (Bank of Zambia) maintained that Investrust was insolvent, and that it’s liquidation was carried out in accordance with the country’s extant law.
Meanwhile the Bank of Zambia has not publicly responded to BONI’s latest court filing. In a statement on July 14, the financial regulator said Investrust was taken over under the Zambian Banking and Financial Services Act, on account that it (Investrust) had become insolvent, and no longer had enough assets to meet its obligations.
However, investment analysts adduce that BONI’s legal battle could test Zambia’s investor confidence in a country considered amongst Africa’s most closely watched emerging markets.
The case also raises fresh questions about Zambia’s investor protection and regulatory certainty, in a country seen as one of Africa’s fastest-growing investment destinations.
Bank of Nevis International (BONI) is, therefore, seeking a judicial review against the Bank of Zambia, the country’s finance minister and attorney general, claiming that the regulators unlawfully refused to recognise its (BONI’s) 24.8 percent stake in Investrust Bank before the lender was placed into liquidation in 2024.
BONI’s case which was filed July 22 (this year), will begin hearing by 2027.
According to international financial services analysts, the dispute goes beyond one failed bank. It tests a broader concern among international investors: whether domestic regulatory decisions can summarily undermine legally acquired investments after capital has already been committed. It further exposes a country that is in continental competition to garner foreign investment.
Indeed, the implication of this case potentially poses immense significance to the Zambian government. The lawsuit comes at a time the copper producing nation is in desperate efforts to attract foreign capital inflows into its domestic market, following years of economic reforms and debt restructuring.
Most African governments are tightly competing for foreign investments into their domestic markets, in efforts to shore up their GDP and boost especially youth employment.
Who is Prest?
Michael Prest was born in Nigeria’s Delta State. He built a career in global commodities trading, working at Phibro Energy, Vitol before later serving as chief executive officer of Marc Rich Investments.
He later founded Petrodel Resources, which expanded into oil exploration in Tanzania and Zambia. Later, the firm was to move into renewable energy through a partnership with SkyPower, a Canadian solar developer.
Prest had acquired the banking operations of Bank of Nevis International in the Caribbean in 2019. He rebranded the financial institution to form BONI.
Investment without recognition
BONI in its court filings, said it bought its 24.8 percent stake in Investrust Bank Zambia between March 2021 and November 2022 through a licensed broker on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LSE), making it the bank’s second-largest shareholder.
However, the Caribbean based bank said it spent nearly two years trying to have the holding formally registered by Zambia’s regulators without receiving recognition.
According to BONI, the refusal prevented it from exercising shareholder rights, including appointing directors or participating in efforts to recapitalise the then struggling Investrust Bank before the regulatory body declared it insolvent.
At the moment, the legal dispute centres on BONI’s 24.8 percent stake in Investrust Bank, which the investor claims was never formally recognised before the lender was liquidated.
For this, the Caribbean bank now seeks $40 million (about N61.4 billion) in compensation, arguing that the Zambian regulator’s actions has wiped off the value of its investment, as well as denying it the opportunity to help rescue Investrust.
Set to take on government:
BONI appears set to take the Zambian government on long drawn legal battle. The lender has hired Robert Amsterdam, founder of Amsterdam & Partners, an international lawyer with prowess on taking governments on litigation paths, and winning them. Its previous clients include former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Amsterdam argues that Zambian regulator’s repeated attempts to prevent the case from being heard in court is a reflection of the seriousness of the underlying dispute, rather than weaknesses in BONI’s legal arguments.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Zambia had lost in three unsuccessful attempts to stop BONI’s matter from reaching the court. The latest being Zambian High Court’s rejection of the regulator’s application in June, after dismissing two earlier procedural challenges in late 2025.
However, the Zambian financial regulator says it is committed to conducting the Investrust liquidation “transparently, fairly and lawfully,” while settling claims in line with the country’s legal framework.
At the time being, Bank of Zambia has yet to file its substantive defence, making BONI’s allegations not yet tested in court.
BONI’s shinning track record
Caribbean based BONI, it was, that stream-rolled the first commercial links between Africa and the Caribbean by entering a trade finance partnership with the African Export -Import Bank (Afreximbank). The deal is aimed at strengthening business and economic links between Africa and the Caribbean.
To wit, Prest is quite conversant with regulatory disputes. Earlier this year, his BONI secured a landmark judgement by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal, which ruled that the island’s banking regulator had acted without lawful authority when it imposed fines on BONI.
International investors are cautious, often assessing political and legal risks for a country that is positioning itself as an investment destination. Hence, disputes involving shareholder rights and regulatory certainty (like the BONI’s) are closely watched by foreign investors.
As a result, investment analysts are cautious about the outcome, which could influence perceptions of investor protection not only in Zambia but across African financial markets that are looking to attract long-term foreign capital.
