The Spanish businessman Florentino Pérezpresident of the ACS company, asked the justice of Luxembourg the embargo of 315 million dollars in assets of the Republic of Peru. The process began on February 14, as a consequence of the partial breach of an international award issued by the International Differences Arrangement Center related to investments (Ciadi), dependent on the World Bank. The conflict arises from irregularities in the execution of the concession contract for the Line 2 of the Lima meter.
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A millionaire embargo
Society Lima Metro Line 2made up of ACS (25%), FCC (18.25%) and other international partners, undertook the forced execution of the award after verifying that the Peruvian State had paid only 106 million of the 456 million dollars ordered by the arbitral tribunal.
Of the total, only 56 million are formally suspended while requests for review by Peru are evaluated. The rest, more than 300 million, constitutes the basis of the proclamation.
Luxembourg was the jurisdiction chosen to request the seizure of goods. There, the Award Ciadi acts as an executive title, which allows to initiate the retention of bank accounts, financial investments and even official properties of the nation. Although the judicial authorities have not yet revealed which assets could be compromised, according to information from the digital economy portal, the embargo progresses stealthily but effective.
The measure occurs in parallel to Two new demands that the consortium has filed against the Government of Peru before the court. These actions, even in process, could increase financial pressure over Peru, which already faces an adverse legal scenario and high media exposure.
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Peru’s response
Before the judicial offensive, the Peruvian government responded with a partial annulment application of the arbitration award, presented on February 26. The resource focuses on damage to construction and interests and impositions on these concepts, called ‘damage under protest’.
In addition, the State requested the total suspension of the execution while the annulment procedure is resolved, whose verdict could be extended until the end of 2026. However, the Ciadi ad hoc commission has not yet pronounced on the complete suspension, whose decision is expected for October 15 of this year.
Peru’s legal offensive tries to contain the economic and political impact of a ruling that could sit in a precedent in future international litigation.
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Background of the conflict
The conflict between ACS and the Peruvian State dates back to January 2017, when the Metro de Lima Consortium Line 2 filed an arbitration lawsuit before the CIADI for serious breaches of the concession contract, signed in 2014. The megaproject, valued at 3.9 billion euros, contemplated the construction of line 2 of the Lima Metro in five years and an exploitation of 30 years with projected income of 2,400 million euros.
The concessionaire alleged, among other reasons, that Peru did not deliver the land required in the stipulated deadlines and that there were significant delays in the approval of the detailed engineering studies. At the same time, the State presented a contrademanda for alleged environmental and socio -economic damage, which amounted to more than 700 million dollars.
After years of hearings and test review, a ruling of March 21, 2024 condemned Peru to the payment of 456 million dollars, a figure that was adjusted after a review of the court of October 30 of the same year. The conviction included simple interest calculated by Libor +2% until the total payment is completed. Despite this, Peru has executed only a fraction of the amount, which detonated the embargo on Luxembourg.
