The Nigerian government alleges that JP Morgan ‘failed in its duty of care’

The Nigerian government is suing JP Morgan for $875m (£660m), alleging the Wall Street banking giant acted as the middleman in an illegal oil deal and made payments to a convicted money launderer.

Papers filed with the High Court in London claim that in 2011 the bank transferred money to a company controlled by Dan Etete, a former oil minister in the Nigerian government. He had previously been convicted of money laundering by French courts and is being pursued by Nigerian authorities.

JP Morgan was “grossly negligent” in handing over more than $800m “without proper application or regard to its obligations”, the court documents allege.

Etete served under the military dictator Sani Abacha in the 1990s.

The Nigerian authorities maintain JP Morgan “failed in its