The debate session regarding the Public Ministry's request to seize the assets of the 19 defendants in the main case of Hidden Debts will take place next Monday (11).

The session had been scheduled for February 24, however it was rescheduled because, at the time, some lawyers did not receive all the documents pertaining to the case.

The new date for the session occurred after the Maputo Superior Court of Appeal decided to keep Judge Efigénio Baptista in front of the debate on the MP's request, following an appeal filed by some defense lawyers, who understood that the judge could not rule on the seizure of assets, while a request for the magistrate's removal is pending, which is being analyzed by the Supreme Court.

These lawyers were removed from the main Hidden Debts case for improper conduct, one of them having been made a declarant in the middle of the discussion and evidence production hearing. Together, the lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court after being removed by Efigénio Baptista from the trial of the Hidden Debts case.

The trial was marked by moments of strong tension between the court and the lawyers, and the Mozambique Bar Association (OAM) abandoned its role as assistant to the prosecutor in the case because it disagreed with some positions of Efigénio Baptista and the public prosecution.

The verdict in the hidden debts case is scheduled for August 1.

In the closing arguments, the prosecution 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 defendant; it also asked that the defendants be ordered to pay damages of $2.7 billion, corresponding to the total hidden debts, plus interest of $850.5 thousand calculated until 2019.