Maputo, 4 Mar (AIM) – A judge in the London High Court on Friday ordered the Mozambican authorities to allow access to documents held by the Mozambican state in the scandal of the “hidden debts”.
This term refers to the illicit loans of over two billion US dollars that three fraudulent Mozambican companies, Proindicus, Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management) obtained from the banks Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia in 2013 and 2014.
The loans were granted on the basis of guarantees granted illegally by the government of the day, under the then President Armando Guebuza. The Mozambican Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) is suing, in the London courts, Credit Suisse and the Abu Dhabi based group Privinvest, which was the sole contractor for the three fake companies, selling them fishing boats, radar stations and other assets at vastly inflated prices.
The PGR wants the courts to declare the loan guarantees null and void, and is demanding that compensation be paid to Mozambique.
But, according to a report from the Reuters news agency, on Friday Judge Robin Knowles told the High Court in London that Mozambique had failed in its disclosure duties, describing this as a ‘really serious matter.’ He ordered access to relevant documents from bodies such as the State Information and Security Service (SISE) and Office of the President. He threatened to strike down the case altogether if the Mozambican authorities failed to comply.
‘If I need to exercise my powers for strike-out to ensure compliance with the Republic’s (i.e. Mozambique’s) duties and the obligations of this litigation I will, because that is my duty and the fairness of the trial I wish to deliver to the Republic and all parties is at stake,’ Knowles told the High Court.
But he set no deadline for Mozambique to grant access to the documents in question. A full trial was expected to begin in October.
Credit Suisse and Privinvest want the case scrapped if Mozambique fails to disclose the documents they are demanding to see.
According to Reuters, the PGR has claimed that state secrecy prevents some documents from being disclosed.
This is a strange argument, because the PGR and the Maputo City Court flatly rejected the defence arguments about “state security” during the trial of 19 people accused of crimes in connection with the “hidden debts”, including the director-general of SISE under Guebuza, Gregorio Leao, and his number two, Antonio do Rosario, who chaired all three fraudulent companies.
(AIM)
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