White & Case secures critical settlements for Republic of Mozambique in long-running multibillion-dollar debt dispute

Global law firm White & Case LLP has successfully advised the Republic of Mozambique in negotiating successive settlements of substantial debt claims made against the State in the English High Court.

The settlements resolve the debt claims pursued against the Republic by various financial institutions in connection with the long-running 'Tuna Bond' scandal. The English High Court handed down its judgment in the underlying proceedings on 29 July 2024. The Court found in favour of Mozambique, affirming the Republic's case that the disputed debt was procured by bribery and corruption orchestrated by Privinvest and making no determination as to liability in relation to the debt claims which the Republic had settled prior to judgment being handed down.

The settlements mark an important step for the Republic in mitigating the consequences of the scandal, which saw the State purportedly guarantee borrowings in excess of US$2 billion over a decade ago. In his judgment, Mr Justice Knowles observed:

"The settlements that were achieved will have been very challenging to achieve, but the involvement of the legal teams in achieving them deserves respect. With the earlier of the settlements, just as the trial was about to start, existing arrangements over who would lead on which issues at trial had to be reset, but the complete professionalism and deep experience of all legal teams (departing and remaining) enabled this."

The case is The Republic of Mozambique (acting through its Attorney General) v Credit Suisse International and others [2024] EWHC 1957 (Comm). The judgment is available here.

The White & Case team which advised on both settlements was instructed by the Republic's Attorney General, Madam Beatriz Buchili and Deputy Attorney General, Dr Angelo Matusse and was led by partners Charles Balmain and Ian Clark (both London) and included partners Andrew McDougall KC (Paris) and Swati Tripathi (London), counsel Peter Chessick (Washington, DC) and Chris Thomas (London) and associates Cecily Higham (London), Gustavo Gaspar Nogueira and Cristiana Goncalves Correia (Paris) and Tobias Zuber (Brussels). White & Case advised the Republic alongside Lazard Frères, as financial advisors, and Peters & Peters, as solicitors for the Republic in the English High Court proceedings.

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