MOZAMBICAN President Filipe Nyusi has turned to a London court to uphold his immunity amidst legal turmoil surrounding the notorious ‘tuna bond’ scandal, while shipbuilding conglomerate Privinvest finds itself entangled in Mozambique’s $3.1bn lawsuit over alleged bribery.
The lawsuit against Privinvest alleges the company of paying bribes to officials and Credit Suisse bankers, exacerbating Mozambique’s decade-long legal battle. London’s High Court, where the case is pending, is yet to deliver a verdict following a trial held last year. Mozambique reached a settlement with UBS, the new owner of Credit Suisse, on the eve of the trial in October.
Challenges surrounding Nyusi’s immunity surfaced prior to last year’s trial, with the High Court ruling that he had not been properly served with Privinvest’s lawsuit and asserting his entitlement to immunity as a head of state.
Privinvest aims to drag Nyusi into the ongoing high court case, alleging that he accepted $11 million in unlawful campaign payments from the company, a claim Nyusi vehemently denies. Duncan Matthews, representing Privinvest, argued in the Court of Appeal that Nyusi’s delayed response to the court papers invalidated his claim to immunity.
However, Nyusi’s lawyer, Rodney Dixon, countered, stating that Privinvest’s attempt to remove Nyusi’s immunity stemmed from administrative discrepancies, emphasising the timing of Nyusi’s immunity claim.
The allegations against Nyusi are intertwined with Mozambique’s expansive lawsuit, initially targeting Credit Suisse, Privinvest, and others, over the ‘tuna bonds’ saga. Mozambique alleges that bribes were exchanged to secure favourable terms for various projects, including the exploitation of the country’s tuna-rich coastal waters.
Lawyers representing Privinvest and its late owner, Iskandar Safa, who passed away on January 29, argue that Mozambique’s lawsuit is politically motivated, adding further complexity to the legal proceedings.