Moroccan Firm Seeks to Enforce €110 Million Arbitration Award Against Equatorial Guinea in US
A Casablanca-based company has launched proceedings in Washington to secure payment of an arbitration award worth nearly €110 million against Equatorial Guinea. At the heart of the international dispute: two social housing projects.
Two real estate projects have led to a nine-figure standoff. According to Global Arbitration Review, the social housing projects awarded to Urbajet in Equatorial Guinea were plagued by delays and missed payments.
The Moroccan company brought the dispute before an arbitral tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The proceedings, launched in 2022, resulted in an award issued on November 21, 2025, worth nearly €110 million.
On October 20, 2026, Urbajet went on the offensive in the United States. Its lawyers filed a petition to enforce the award with the federal court for the District of Columbia in Washington. The case is numbered 1:26-cv-03663.
In Malabo, homes left abandoned
The financial battle follows a high-profile inspection in Equatorial Guinea. On December 3, 2025, Prime Minister Manuel Osa Nsue visited the Urbajet housing development in Malabo. The government’s account described unfinished homes, streets overgrown with vegetation and buildings already in disrepair.
Equatorial Guinean authorities then ordered the site to be cleaned up and requested a technical report on the condition of the buildings. Some of the homes had been completed, while other buildings remained unfinished.
In Washington, Urbajet filed its petition along with several supporting documents. Three lawyers are already listed in the federal case. The company is now seeking to have the award against Equatorial Guinea recognized and enforced in the United States.