Credit Suisse lost its bid to block an impending trial over allegations of wrongdoings in a multibillion dollar boat-financing scandal in Mozambique.
(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse lost its bid to block an impending trial over allegations of wrongdoings in a multibillion dollar boat-financing scandal in Mozambique.
A UK high court judge on Monday refused to strike out the case brought by the Mozambican government. It alleges the Swiss bank ignored red flags and turned a blind eye to the corruption of its own bankers in deals struck a decade ago that were intended to fund a new coastal patrol force and tuna fishing fleet in the African nation.
Credit Suisse, whose takeover by UBS Group AG was completed last month, had alleged that a fair trial was not possible after the government in Maputo made “serious and willful breaches” of court orders by not disclosing necessary documents.
“The court is not persuaded that the litigation should be struck out now as a matter of principle, as a sanction for non-compliance with court’s orders,” Judge Robin Knowles ruled in rejecting the bank’s request. The court will, however, “guard with particular vigilance against unfairness at trial,” he said.
The trial, set to begin in London in October, is set to be one of the highest-profile in the UK this year and is a part of the legal troubles that the UBS inherits from its government-brokered rescue of Credit Suisse.
Read more: UBS Inherits Legacy of Legal Headaches From Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse agreed in 2021 to pay almost $475 million to resolve multiple investigations into its role in the fundraising scandal that saw hundreds of millions looted from Mozambique and tipped the country into economic crisis.
As part of the deal, a European unit of the bank pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Credit Suisse also entered into a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department.
Credit Suisse had alleged Mozambique’s president and security service failed to disclose documents that were crucial for a fair trial. The Mozambique government was in breach of its disclosure duties, the judge acknowledged in the ruling, but it has made further searches and “work continues,” he said.
“It is not just, proportionate or necessary to strike out the Republic’s statements of case or claims, or debar it from defending, at this stage,” Knwoels said.
Credit Suisse said in a statement after the ruling that it will continue to defend itself in the case.
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