Africa-Press – Mozambique. Credit Suisse (USD) has reached an out-of-court settlement with Mozambique over its ‘hidden debt’ default, the Swiss bank’s new owner, UBS (UBSG.S), said on Sunday. “The parties have mutually released each other from any liabilities and claims relating to the transactions,” UBS said in a statement.
In Maputo, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Economy and Finance have called a joint press conference for this Monday (02-10) morning.
Sources close to UBS said the agreement includes forgiveness of US$100 million of Mozambique’s debt to Credit Suisse, but no amount has so far been officially announced.
‘Carta’ knows that the amount will not be revealed at today’s press conference, as the agreement has not yet been submitted to the judge in the case, Robin Knowles.
The agreement has implications for third parties involved in the trial due to start in London today, which is being rescheduled as some of the processes will no longer be relevant. The London trial will now proceed only with Privinvest.
“It’s a good settlement,” said a source familiar with the document. With the agreement, the court cases and counter-cases between the Mozambican state and Credit Suisse fall away.
The Mozambican state will now focus its attention on Privinvest and the Russian bank VTB, (which falls outside the London process). The agreement will save the PGR millions of US dollars in legal representation costs in London.
As the numbers of the agreement have not been released, it is still difficult to understand what its immediate impact will be on the pockets of Mozambican citizens. If the alleged US$100 million additional forgiveness is confirmed, the amount will be in addition to the US$200 million already forgiven by Credit Suisse in 2021, when the bank agreed to pay around US$475 million to the British and North American authorities to resolve allegations of bribery and fraud and committed to forgiving US$200 million of Mozambique’s debt and paying US$475 million in fines in a series of coordinated agreements with four regulators in three countries.
In the trial that may begin in London today, Mozambique demands compensation for “macroeconomic losses” exceeding one billion dollars resulting from the financial crisis created by the suspension of financing from the International Monetary Fund and other international donors.
Mozambique alleges that the country was the victim of a conspiracy and that Privinvest and its owner, Iskandar Safa, paid bribes in excess of US$136 million to senior Mozambican and Credit Suisse officials involved in the negotiations.
The start of the trial on the so-called hidden debts case in London today is uncertain due to the appeal over President Filipe Nyusi’s immunity. This extrajudicial agreement may also have an impact on the timing of the process
In a ruling issued on Friday, Judge Elizabeth Laing accepted an appeal against the London High Court ruling of September 4, which gave the head of state diplomatic immunity from ongoing legal proceedings.
“Whether or not the trial should be postponed must therefore depend on whether any party requests it and, obviously, on the judge’s considered opinion as to whether such a postponement should be granted. That question is up to him,” Judge Laing said in her decision.
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