The shipping group Privinvest announced that it will not call the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, as a witness in the trial related to Mozambique's hidden debts case at the London Commercial Court. This decision was communicated by the company's lawyer during a hearing held today, which aimed to discuss the reorganization of procedures following the agreement reached between Mozambique and the UBS Group, owner of the Credit Suisse bank, at the weekend.
The lawyer, Duncan Matthews, stated, “We have concluded that we will not involve President Nyusi,” thus allowing the trial to begin on October 16, rather than requesting a postponement. However, the company is still considering challenging the diplomatic immunity status granted to the head of state to prevent him from being questioned about the case.
Matthews expressed concern about the “degree of uncertainty and lack of clarity” that still exists regarding the terms of the agreement between Mozambique and Credit Suisse, as well as its implications for the process.
On Monday, the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Mozambique announced that “the agreement guarantees that the parties are mutually free from any liabilities and claims related to the transactions, including the extinguishment of the total amount of debt that Credit Suisse claimed from Mozambique ”.
Credit Suisse lawyer Laurence Rabinowitz had previously indicated that the bank's participation in the trial would be reduced as a result of this understanding, making Privinvest and Russian bank VTB more prominent in the case.
Privinvest is accused of corrupting Mozambican public officials and Credit Suisse involved in negotiating contracts for the purchase of fishing boats and maritime safety equipment by state companies Proindicus, Ematus and MAM.
While Mozambique withdrew its claim for compensation for “macroeconomic losses” in excess of one billion dollars (950 million euros), the banks VTB and Banco Comercial Português still maintain legal actions to force Mozambique to pay the loan of 535 million dollars (508 million euros at the current exchange rate) granted to MAM.
