In the recent case of The Federal Republic of Nigeria v Process & Industrial Developments Limited [2020] EWHC 2379 (Comm), the High Court granted an extension of time to bring challenges to an arbitral award made under Sections 67 and 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996.

The unusual aspect of this decision was that it had been several years since the arbitral award was made. The court found that the applicant had established a strong prima facie case of fraud affecting both the underlying contract and the arbitral proceedings, of which it had reasonably been unaware. This, along with other factors, merited the grant of an unprecedented extension.