Musings From Abroad

Mozambique’s President can’t be tried in London over ‘tuna bond’ scandal— Court

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2023

A London High Court has ruled that Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, cannot be sued in Britain for bribery in his country’s lawsuit against Credit Suisse and others over the $2 billion “tuna bond” scandal.

President Nyusi was dragged into the dispute by Privinvest and Safa, which claimed he should be held responsible for whatever damages they may be required to pay Mozambique if they were found guilty.

The allegations against Nyusi were centred on payments totalling $11 million that they believe Privinvest paid in 2014 to support Nyusi’s election campaign and that of his Frelimo party, which is currently in power.

In response to Privinvest and Safa’s arguments, Judge Robin Knowles ruled in his verdict on Monday that Nyusi “has immunity from the jurisdiction of this court while he is head of state of the republic. If the payments were illegal and they were liable to Mozambique, then Nyusi should be liable to them”.

The “hidden debt” or tuna bond issue has sparked criminal investigations from Maputo to New York, as well as a string of related litigation in London involving Credit Suisse, shipbuilder Privinvest, its owner Iskandar Safa, and many other parties.

The controversy around the scandal dates back to when three recently formed businesses borrowed $2.2 billion in 2013 and 2014, most of it without the consent or knowledge of the nation’s legislature. Despite this, the Mozambique government acted as a guarantee of the loans, which meant that if anything went wrong, the state would pay back the money.

The funds were allegedly used to fund other transactions involving businesses in which the state had a significant stake, as well as the acquisition of a sizable tuna plant and a maritime surveillance fleet.

Related Topics:Featured Mozambique Tuna Bond

Click to comment

Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

5 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

1 day ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.