Judge Efigénio Baptista postponed to November 30, 2022 the date for the reading of the sentences of the defendants in the case of Hidden Debts that should have been known on August 1st.

The postponement results from the complexity of the processes according to the television channel STV this afternoon. And according to Lusa, which cites an order signed by Efigénio Baptista, the volume of the process has more than 30 thousand pages, and overload of work with the arrests, embargoes and aggravation, justify the decision.

The judge in the case had already warned of the possibility of postponing the date.

The Hidden Debts case involves 19 defendants accused of associating in a "gang" and defrauding the Mozambican state of $2.7 billion raised from international banks through guarantees provided by the government.

In its closing arguments, the Mozambican Public Prosecutor's Office asked the court for the maximum penalty for eight of the 19 defendants, close to the maximum penalty for 10 defendants, and the acquittal of only one.

The prosecution also asked the court to order the defendants to pay damages of $2.7 billion, corresponding to the total hidden debts, plus interest of $850.5 billion calculated until 2019.

The loans worth about 2.7 billion dollars were secretly endorsed by Armando Guebuza's government, without the knowledge of the parliament and the Administrative Court.