Soprim Construction SARL v The Republic of Djibouti & others [2026] EWHC 1850 (Comm) - how a state's grip on a container terminal ended in a London charging order

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The English High Court has held that a Djiboutian container terminal operator (DCT) held over US$41 million in shipping profits on trust for the Republic of Djibouti (the Republic) in bank accounts in London[FG1.1]. This finding enabled a contractor (Soprim) with unsatisfied arbitral awards against the Republic to obtain a charging order in respect of the entire sum, despite the fact that Soprim had no judgment against DCT directly.