Members of Howard Kennedy's Commercial Dispute Resolution team have been included in The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases of 2023. Led by partner Duncan Bagshaw, the team represent the former director of the Treasury and Deputy Finance Minister of Mozambique, in Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse, Privinvest, VTB Capital and others – one of the largest cases currently before the Commercial Court.
The claim has been brought by the Republic of Mozambique against Credit Suisse and other parties, arising out of the affair known as the "Hidden Debts" or "Tunabond" scandal, seeking to challenge lending of over $2 billion to Mozambique, on the grounds of an alleged corrupt conspiracy including a group of foreign businesses, and involving massive alleged bribes to individuals at the highest level of Mozambican public office, bank officials and others.
The proceedings are listed for a 3-month trial before Mr Justice Knowles in October 2023. The outcome of a case will be a matter of fundamental importance to the financial standing and reputation of Mozambique, and Credit Suisse. The fallout when the dispute arose caused a sovereign currency crisis in Mozambique. The litigation and its interplay with the arbitration is one of the most complex cases of recent years.
This is the third time Howard Kennedy has recently been included in The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases, having previously been featured in 2019 and 2021.
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