An English court has imposed a sweeping worldwide asset freeze on Nigerian oil trader Abdulrahman Musa Bashar, restricting his assets across multiple countries after he allegedly failed to repay a $40 million judgment debt and was found to have threatened to move assets beyond the reach of creditors.
The High Court in London issued the worldwide freezing order on March 30 against Bashar and his UAE-registered company, Ultimate Oil and Gas FZCO, following concerns that assets were being concealed or moved to frustrate enforcement of the debt.
The order prevents Bashar and his firm from selling or transferring assets globally up to the value of the unpaid judgment, with disclosed holdings across the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and France estimated at about $170 million.
The case stems from oil trading agreements between 2022 and 2023 involving Dubai-based Petrichor Energy FZCO, which supplied gasoil and aviation fuel to Bashar’s company but was not fully paid. A personal repayment agreement signed in 2024, backed by guarantees and cheques, reportedly failed when the payments were not honoured.
By 2025, an English court entered judgment against Bashar and his company for roughly $40 million in outstanding debt. Subsequent legal filings alleged that he sold properties in the UAE after judgment and did not apply the proceeds toward repayment.
Court records also cited an alleged phone conversation in which Bashar reportedly warned that he would dispose of assets if pressured to settle, raising concerns about intentional asset dissipation.
Further scrutiny revealed that significant Nigerian assets, including fuel stations and real estate valued at over $21 million, may not have been fully disclosed during proceedings, strengthening suspicions of incomplete financial transparency.
The court concluded that the case reflected a situation where the debtor appeared unwilling to pay rather than unable to pay, prompting one of the strongest asset protection measures available under English law.
Bashar has faced previous legal actions in the UK and the United Arab Emirates, including convictions related to contract breaches and disputed financial instruments.
Petrichor Energy has since expanded enforcement efforts across multiple jurisdictions, including Nigeria and the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, in an attempt to recover the outstanding funds and prevent asset movement.
