This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
London's High Court has become the latest battleground in a global corruption scandal that has left Mozambique reeling.
At its centre is a $2 billion loan scandal that has seen the country's President Filipe Nyusi being sued by Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilder Privinvest.
Privinvest, owned by French-Lebanese billionaire Iskandar Safa, signed contracts with Mozambican state companies to supply tuna fishing and maritime security vessels in 2013 and 2014.
The government took out secret loans to finance the deal, equivalent to 12 percent of Mozambique's gross domestic product at the time.
However, much of the money disappeared in kickbacks and bribes, and the country later defaulted on repayments.
Privinvest has denied bribery to win the contracts, arguing its payments were political donations that were legal in Mozambique at the time.
"Privinvest confirms that, on 19 October 2021, President Nyusi was served in Mozambique with Privinvest's litigation claims in the High Court in London against him," the company said in a statement.
The debt scandal has sparked legal cases across three continents and exposed corruption on a global scale.
On the same day, Privinvest served its papers on Nyusi, Swiss bank Credit Suisse was being fined $475 million for "fraudulently misleading investors" and corruption over its part in issuing the loans.
Mr Nyusi was defence minister at the time the loans were taken.
