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Privinvest seeks permission to appeal and stay of enforcement, arguing fair trial impossible for non-disclosure, after Judge Knowles' Commercial Court bribery judgment in Mozambique case (England and Wales)

Published on: 20 September 2024

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
Article summary

Privinvest has asked the High Court for permission to appeal against findings that it was behind a scheme to pay kickbacks to Mozambique public officials to tie the African country into a financing package for a tuna-fishing fleet

Duncan Matthews KC of Twenty Essex, acting for Privinvest, argued a fair hearing was not possible because Judge Robin Knowles, who presided over the proceedings, declined to strike out Mozambique’s claim despite the state’s failure to give crucial disclosure. He said the republic had chosen a course that disadvantaged Privinvest, in deliberate breach of court orders, and had not been penalised for it, calling that an abuse of process. He maintained the state’s disclosure failures deprived his client of a fair opportunity to contest the case. Mozambique brought a US$3.1bn action against Privinvest and its owner, Iskandar Safa — a French-Lebanese billionaire now deceased. The republic alleges more than US$136m in bribes were paid to government officials and Credit Suisse bankers to obtain favourable terms on profitable infrastructure and fishing deals. In a July judgment, Judge Knowles determined most of the trial issues in Mozambique’s favour...

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