A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C, has ordered the Ghanaian government to pay $111.5 million plus post-judgment interest to the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC). This follows a default judgment after Ghana failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by GPGC seeking payment of an arbitral award.
The case stems from a 2021 UK tribunal ruling that Ghana had breached a power purchase agreement by wrongfully terminating it in 2018. The tribunal awarded GPGC $134 million in damages, but Ghana only made partial payments, leading GPGC to file the case in the U.S. under the New York Convention.
Court documents reveal that the U.S. court served Ghana with the petition on January 23, 2024, through Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
The documents were delivered in Ghana on January 29, 2024, with a signed confirmation of receipt.
However, Ghana failed to respond by the March 29, 2024 deadline and did not appear in the court proceedings.
The court determined that it had jurisdiction over the case, citing the New York Convention, which the U.S. has ratified, recognizing UK arbitral awards.
The court also noted that Ghana had expressly waived its sovereign immunity and committed to international arbitration under the power purchase agreement.
In his August 6, 2024, memorandum opinion, Chief Judge James E. Boasberg emphasized that the arbitral award between the non-U.S. parties arose out of a commercial relationship, which falls under the New York Convention.
While the judge did not grant pre-judgment interest to GPGC, the court will award post-judgment interest at the rate specified in U.S. codes, adding to the financial burden on Ghana.
. This follows a default judgment after Ghana failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by GPGC seeking payment of an arbitral award.){kind=link}