Middle East shipbuilder Privinvest can appeal against a decision to grant immunity to Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi on the eve of a $2bn corruption case in the UK, according to reports.
Mozambique is suing Privinvest, its Lebanese-born owner Iskandar Safa and others over alleged bribes of more than $136m to corrupt Mozambique officials over a series of shipping-related investments.
Credit Suisse, one of the defendants, agreed an out-of-court deal on the eve of the trial, its new owner UBS said on Sunday.
Privinvest said Nyusi should contribute to damages if it is found liable. The decision allowing the appeal could delay the start of Monday’s trial in London, which is expected to last for several months.
The case centres around alleged corrupt payments to secure three-decade-old deals between state-owned Mozambique companies and Privinvest to develop the country’s tuna fishing industry, a shipyard and a coastal defence system.
The plans were backed by nearly $2bn in loans from Credit Suisse and Russian lender VTB based on a guarantee from the Mozambique government.
But the investment failed and Mozambique is taking legal action over the missing millions as it faces being exposed to a $2bn liability. Mozambique wants to revoke the guarantee on a loan that it said was procured corruptly.
Privinvest had wanted any dispute over the deals should be settled through arbitration in Switzerland but England’s highest court ruled in favour of the African nation last month.
Privinvest claims that it provided valuable goods and services but they were squandered by the government, which sabotaged the project for internal political reasons.
The legal battle in London is just the latest in a long saga that has seen three Credit Suisse bankers plead guilty in the US to offences including wire fraud and money laundering.
In 2021, Credit Suisse agreed to pay about $475m to authorities in the US and UK for defrauding investors over the deal.
