Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which is representing the state in its bid to cancel part of the debt, appealed last year’s unfavorable decision by the Court of Appeal to the country’s highest court.
In that decision, the panel of judges unanimously concluded that the agreements with Privinvest naval group companies were subject to arbitration in Switzerland, unlike the sovereign guarantees provided for contractual loans to Credit Suisse and VTB banks, which are governed by British law. .
The issue could be important because, if upheld, legal proceedings in the United Kingdom could be suspended against Privinvest, accused of corrupting Mozambican public officials and politicians.
Even so, Nathan Billo, a lawyer representing Mozambique, acknowledged that a decision by the Supreme Court (equivalent to the Constitutional Court) would depend on a decision in the same case at London’s Commercial Court starting in October.
“In a way, your Honor’s question [os juízes] “If it turns out that the Republic is never a party to arbitration agreements, who gets to decide who can be an academic,” he explained.
Brinvest lawyer Duncan Matthews acknowledged that the impact of the Supreme Court ruling is “relatively small, so from a practical point of view, my client should settle all charges … in the autumn”.
The UK Supreme Court has scheduled two days of hearings for today and Wednesday, and sentencing details are expected to be announced in months.
The main hearing is on October 3
However, the Commercial Court, which is part of London’s High Court, is set to begin its key ruling on the validity of the loans on October 3.
A lawsuit against Credit Suisse and Prinvinvest, initiated by the PGR on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique to cancel part of a 2,700 million dollar (2,600 million euro) loan contracted with international banks between 2013 and 2014, has begun. By public agencies for the purchase of tuna fishing boats and maritime security equipment and services.
Unbeknownst to Parliament and the Administrative Court, the loans were guaranteed by the government of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), led at the time by President Armando Cubausa, leading to the classification of “hidden loans”.
However, the Russian bank VTB initiated a case in the same court to recover one of the defaulted installments of the Mozambican loan.
A number of high-ranking civil servants and state figures have been named in the process, including Cubaoza, former finance minister Manuel Tsang and current head of state Philippe Nyusi.
In a court case related to the same case that ended in December in Maputo, 11 of the 19 defendants were sentenced to prison terms (10 to 12 years), three of whom must pay restitution equal to 2.6 billion euros to the state. .
The three targeted, Ndambi Cubaoza, son of former president Armando Cubaoza, and two former secret service chiefs, Gregorio Leo and Antonio Carlos do Rosario (former director general and former head of economic ‘intelligence’ respectively), were convicted. 12 years imprisonment each.
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