Prince Chibudom Nwuche sues Refinitiv Limited for inaccurate, incomplete and misleading information about him on World Check Database: demands Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) as damages


Prince Chibudom Nwuche, a lawyer and former Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian Federal House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, has sued a multinational corporation, Refinitiv Limited (1st Defendant), and two others and is seeking the sum of Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) as damages.

Refinitiv, which is an American-British company and a global provider of financial market data and infrastructure, has its corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom. The Company maintains a due diligence database known as World-Check Risk Intelligence Database. The database, amongst others, provides information about politically exposed persons as well as their family members and close associates, to interested financial institutions, companies and individuals around the world.

In the action filed at the High Court of Rivers State, Port Harcourt, Prince Chibudom Nwuche (the Claimant) asserted that Refinitiv i) owes him a duty of care to ensure that the information about him in its due diligence database is complete, accurate and not misleading, ii) breached the duty of care owed to him and has been grossly negligent in the way and manner it collated the information about him on its database; iii) World Check database contains incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading information about him; iv) failed or neglected to take necessary steps to ensure the accuracy and veracity of the newspaper reports it relied on before adding his name to one of its uncomplimentary and negative category; and v) has continued to maintain the incomplete, inaccurate and misleading information about him in his data even after its attention has been drawn to this via letters supported by cogent and verifiable documentary evidence.

The Claimant therefore contends that he has suffered economic losses and reputational damage as a result of Refinitiv’s action. According to the Claimant, his bank accounts were closed by First Bank UK Limited (2nd Defendant) and TD Canada Trust (3rd Defendant) after relying on the information on Refinitiv’s database. Even more worrisome to the Claimant is the fact that his family members are now being affected by the acts of Refinitiv. Specifically, his daughter was denied opening an account with USB Bank, Switzerland owing to her categorization by the bank as a politically exposed person (PEP) on the basis that her father was a PEP.

The Claimant is now contending in his action that he is no longer a PEP having left public office over 20 years ago and that his continued classification as a PEP by Refinitiv is unjustifiable and wrong. The Claimant also contends that he does not deserve the reputational damage and economic losses being caused by the Refinitiv’s World Check due diligence database as he is an honest and hard-working Nigerian who can account for every penny and asset he owns.

Essentially, he was already a very successful business man even before ever vying for elective office and founded several companies that were active in the downstream Petroleum sector, trading refined products in Africa, and offering engineering and construction services to the major oil and gas companies including Shell, Agip, Mobil etc. The companies he founded also partnered with several international multinational companies that were industry leaders in the oil and gas sectors and won many large seismic contracts with Shell, Agip, etc. People active in the private sector between 1991 – 1999 can verify this fact. He has always maintained that he ran for elective office solely as a service to his people and not for any other purpose.

Accordingly, he confirmed in the action that even during his tenure as the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives and Chairman of the Committee of the Whole between 1999 – 2003, he was neither found wanting nor accused by anyone of involvement in any corrupt practice in spite of his involvement in the passage of important pieces of legislation and several budgets running in to trillions of Naira in Nigeria.

The High Court on 24 April 2024 granted the Claimant’s application for leave to serve the Defendants outside jurisdiction. The matter is now scheduled to come up on 26 June 2024 for further proceedings.

Hon Nwuche, the fact that you've once held a political position before, you will forever be classified as a PEP...That's the standard worldwide.