Mozambique's government has appealed to the U.K. High Court of Justice to order Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group AG, Lebanese shipbuilding firm Privinvest Holding sal and others to contribute in repaying a $727 million eurobond that it is restructuring, Bloomberg News reported, citing a memorandum sent to bondholders.
The African nation is seeking approval from investors to switch the eurobond, which matures in 2023, into $900 million of notes due from 2028 to 2031. The country is also looking for insurance against liabilities from the debt and costs related to its restructuring, according to the newswire.
The request comes as Mozambique enters the final stages of a three-year process to restructure its debt, following the country's $2 billion hidden loans scandal. The government claimed it was misled into restructuring $850 million of loan-participation notes in 2016 into the eurobonds.
The loans funded a series of maritime projects, which the U.S. Department of Justice has alleged were a front for bribes. The government-backed bonds were taken on by three companies; state firms ProIndicus and Mozambique Asset Management, and fishing firm Empresa Moçambicana de Atum, or Ematum, in 2016.
Additionally, the government, which filed the claim in February, requested the court to cancel a state guarantee on a related $622 million bond to ProIndicus that was arranged by Credit Suisse. Mozambique is also examining if it has any rights or obligations on a $535 million loan extended to Mozambique Asset Management.
