The High Court of Justice in London has denied an attempt to appeal a USD 825 million (EUR 783 million) judgment against international shipbuilding group Privinvest and its now-deceased owner, Iskanar Safa, related to the Mozambique “tuna bond” scandal.
Privinvest was named as one part of the USD 3.1 billion (EUR 2.9 billion) judgement resolving the decade-long case in July. The scandal, which anti-corruption experts called “the most egregious corruption offense of the decade,” centered around deals between state-owned companies in Mozambique and Lebanon and U.A.E.-based Privinvest that were ostensibly intended to develop Mozambique’s seafood industry.
Instead of developing the industry, however, Privinvest, Credit Suisse bankers, and others used the intended development as a screen for fraud, according to a ruling by U.K. High Court Judge Robin Knowles. The scandal at one point caused a currency collapse in Mozambique.
Now, Reuters reports that London’s High Court has refused to allow Privinvest to appeal the case – though the company can still apply directly to the court of appeals and its lawyer told Reuters it intends to do so.
The denial adds another chapter to the long-running case, which involved Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, Mozambique’s former financial minister, and at least 19 other Mozambique officials.
Mozambique reached an out-of-court settlement with Credit Suisse for an undisclosed amount in October 2023, roughly two years after the bank was fined USD 475 million (EUR 451 million) through a coordinated global resolution involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, and an enforcement action by Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
Nyusi, however, has evaded any lawsuits due to a British court ruling that found he was immune to any jurisdiction of the court while the head of state of the republic. Privinvest and Safa at one point tried to involve Nyusi in the lawsuit, but Knowles ruled he continued to benefit from immunity in the British legal system while president.
Nyusi will only remain president for a few more months, as in October Mozambique elected Daniel Chapo – who shares the same political party as Nyusi – to serve in the role after Nyusi’s two terms in office. However the election results were disputed by opponents, and the U.N. reported protests against the election were met with violence from security forces which caused multiple deaths.
