Privinvest, the Lebanese company at the centre of the Mozambique’s USD 2 billion hidden debt scandal, is playing all its cards to avoid being tried by the English legal system. Privinvest, the company owned by the Franco-Lebanese billionaire Iskandar Safa, is the defendant in the civil case begun by the Mozambican Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) in the London High Court of Justice. It is defending itself with the claim that the English courts are not competent to deal with the case. It alleges that the parties agreed that disputes arising from the supply contracts signed with the three Mozambican companies – EMATUM, ProIndicus and MAM – will be settled by the International Arbitration Tribunal (ICC) in Switzerland. In the first instance, the London court rejected the arguments of Privinvest through a decision of Justice Waksman. Privinvest disagreed and appealed to the London Appeals Court, and the case was heard on 17 and 18 February this year.
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