Mozambique: Hidden debts Credit Suisse deal won’t save country from collapse – Renamo

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Mozambique: Hidden debts Credit Suisse deal won’t save country from collapse – Renamo

8:17 CAT | 09 Oct 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Renamo/Facebook]

The Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, said on Friday that the agreement between the government and Credit Suisse would not get the country out of the “calamitous situation” in which it has been left by undeclared debts.

“Substantially, [the agreement] will not change the calamitous situation in which the country is plunged,” said Renamo spokesman José Manteigas.

Manteigas recalled that the context that led the Mozambican state to file a lawsuit against Credit Suisse in London involves amounts of more than two billion dollars and involves other institutions that are not part of the agreement announced by the Mozambican authorities with this financial organisation.

“The country is still feeling the damaging effects of this criminal act,” which resulted in the contraction of undeclared debts, he said.

The Renamo spokesman, who is also a member of parliament for the party, also demanded criminal liability for those allegedly involved in the hidden debt scandal, who supposedly remain unpunished.

“There are still people who should be punished and held responsible for the damage they have caused,” in addition to the defendants already convicted in Mozambique in connection with the case, emphasised José Manteigas.

On Tuesday, the Political Commission of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) considered that the (out of court) settlement between the government and Credit Suisse contributes to restoring donor confidence and strengthening ties with international institutions.

“The Political Commission [of Frelimo] salutes the Mozambican executive for the out-of-court agreement reached with Credit Suisse in the case of the so-called undeclared debts, an act that opens up space for restoring donor confidence in the national market and strengthening ties with international institutions,” the Frelimo body said in a statement.

On Monday, the public prosecutor’s office (PGR) announced an out-of-court settlement between the Mozambican state and UBS over the case of the so-called hidden debts, considering the understanding “mutually advantageous”.

“It is understood and clear that the agreement is mutually advantageous for both parties. In more concrete terms, the agreement mutually releases the parties from their obligations,” said Ângelo Matusse, Mozambique’s deputy attorney general, during a joint press conference with the Mozambican minister of the economy and finance, Max Tonela, in Maputo.

For the minister of the economy and finance, the agreement between Mozambique and Credit Suisse will restore the confidence of international investors in the Mozambican financial market and strengthen ties with other global financial institutions.

The Republic of Mozambique claims that the state guarantees given for bank loans for the purchase of maritime security ships, tuna fishing boats and other equipment, with the money from undeclared debts, should not be considered valid because they were allegedly obtained through the corruption of senior state officials.

The loans were endorsed by the Frelimo government when Armando Guebuza was still head of state, without the knowledge of parliament or the Administrative Tribunal.

Mozambique wants to cancel the millions of dollars owed to Credit Suisse and obtain financial compensation for the macro-financial damage caused.

Source: Lusa