The lawyer for the Privinvest group and the owner Iskandar Safa, Duncan Matthews, believes that the current Prime Minister of Mozambique (former Minister of Economy and Finance), Adriano Maleiane, should be heard in the Hidden Debts case.

In addition to Maleiane, the current President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, would have some say, given that he was Minister of Defense between 2008 and 2014 and had central involvement in the preparation of projects and discussion of contracts for the purchase of boats and equipment for the security of the Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the newspaper DW.

"There are a number of individuals, some signatories to Mozambican contracts, who are not accused of corruption. Entire government ministries, the central bank, a large part of the country's bureaucracy, who were involved, who were aware of the documents," said Duncan Matthews on Friday at a hearing in the London Magistrates' Court.

He also singled out former Interior Minister Alberto Mondlane, former Fisheries Minister Victor Borges and former Bank of Mozambique Governor Ernesto Gove.

The latter were heard as declarants in the trial that took place in the Mozambican capital Maputo. Nyusi was due to be heard in London, but claimed diplomatic immunity; however, a favorable decision will be appealed in February 2024.

"This case continues to be that of a remorseful buyer who, for political reasons, decided to try to keep a series of very valuable pieces of equipment without paying for them," Privinvest summarizes in its written submissions, recalling that it was the Mozambican government that identified the need to defend and exploit its Exclusive Economic Zone.

The case of the "Hidden Debts" dates back to 2013 and 2014, when Manuel Chang, the former Minister of Finance, approved state guarantees on loans from Proinducus, Ematum and MAM to the banks Credit Suisse and VTB, without parliamentary approval.

Discovered in 2016, the debts were estimated at around 2.7 billion dollars, according to figures presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office.