Tuesday 03 August 2021 3:33 pm | Updated: Tuesday 03 August 2021 3:37 pm

Credit Suisse to stand trial over ‘tuna bonds’ involvement

FILE PHOTO: Sources familiar with the matter said the Swiss bank will be scrutinised for its involvement in the scandal that saw funds raised through debt issuance spent on purchasing military equipment

Credit Suisse is set to face a 13-week trial in September 2023 over its involvement in the “tuna bonds” scandal, according to reports on Tuesday.

Sources familiar with the matter said the Swiss bank will be scrutinised for its involvement in the scandal that saw funds raised through debt issuance spent on purchasing military equipment instead of being used to invest in a tuna-fishing fleet in Mozambique.

The news was first reported by the Financial Times.

The loans were not revealed to creditors and the International Monetary Fund, triggering a crisis Mozambique, the country where the funds where supposed to be invested.

Former head of global financing at Credit Suisse Andrew Pearse, as well Detelina Subeya and Surjan Singh, pleaded guilty to charges brought in the US over receiving brides in connection to the bonds.

Credit Suisse has reiterated the bankers involved in the scandal kept their activities secret from oversight.

The FT said the case to be heard at the High Court in London was brought by investors accounting for $622 million of the $2 billion in loans, including Banco Comercial Português and United Bank for Africa against Credit Suisse, Mozambique and a state-owned company that received the funding.

The trial is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Swiss lender. A report recently published by a law firm investigating its role in the Acrchegos failure revealed serious management shortfalls contributed to the lender booking a $10bn loss on the investments linked to the firm.