Mozambique’s Nyusi to blame over ‘tuna bond’ scandal, shipbuilder’s owner says
Mozambique alleges more than $136 million was paid to secure favourable terms in relation to three projects in 2013 and 2014
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was ultimately responsible for the failure of the projects at the centre of the “tuna bond” scandal, the owner of Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest told London’s High Court on Wednesday.
Privinvest and its owner French shipping magnate Iskandar Safa are facing a $3.1-billion lawsuit from the African republic for allegedly paying millions in bribes to Mozambican officials and Credit Suisse bankers.
Mozambique alleges more than $136 million was paid to secure favourable terms in relation to three projects in 2013 and 2014, including one designed to exploit the republic’s tuna-rich coastal waters.
Privinvest and Safa deny any wrongdoing and say any payments made were lawful. They say the case is a politically motivated attack to deflect blame from Nyusi and other senior officials, who they argue squandered the potential of the projects.
“Privinvest does not pay bribes, full stop,” Safa said as he gave evidence by videolink from Paris.
In his written witness statement, Safa blamed the failure of the projects on Nyusi, who he said “wanted the projects to fail” to undermine his predecessor Armando Guebuza’s political authority.
Nyusi was not immediately available for comment.
“When President Nyusi replaced former President Guebuza a power struggle ensued between them,” Safa said.
