On Wednesday (18), Privinvest applied to the Commercial Court in London for a stay of execution on the payment of around two billion dollars (126.4 billion meticals) to Mozambique. The judgement imposes this amount as compensation to the country in the context of the ‘hidden debts’ case. The request includes permission to appeal the sentence handed down on 29 July.
According to a Lusa publication, the naval group that must pay the fine claimed, through its lawyer Duncan Matthews, that it does not have sufficient funds to pay the stipulated amount and could declare insolvency if the suspension is denied. It also argued that Mozambique had failed to disclose important documents, which would have jeopardised the fairness of the trial.
On the other hand, Mozambique’s lawyer, Joe Smouha, rejected the request, stating that ‘fraud has consequences’ and that Privinvest must face these repercussions.
In the original ruling, Judge Robin Knowles had granted Mozambique the right to receive 825 million dollars (52.14 billion meticals) and determined that the country should be compensated for the 1.5 billion dollars (94.8 billion meticals) it owes to banks and bondholders. In the meantime, 421 million dollars (26.61 billion meticals) have been discounted in assets that have already been recovered.
Still under discussion is the interest demanded by Mozambique, which amounts to 40 million pounds, as well as legal costs of around 49 million dollars.
The hidden debts scandal dates back to 2013 and 2014, when the then Finance Minister, Manuel Chang, now in detention in the United States, approved state guarantees on loans from ProInducus, Ematum and MAM to the banks Credit Suisse and VTB, without the consent of parliament.
Discovered in 2016, the debts were estimated at 170.6 billion meticals (2.7 billion dollars), according to figures presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The trial was the culmination of almost four years of litigation in the British courts, to which the country appealed, alleging corruption, conspiracy to defraud by unlawful means and dishonest assistance to cancel debts and claim financial compensation worth millions of dollars.
