The England and Wales Court of Appeal on Wednesday, 21 October, rejected an appeal by the widow of Iskandar Safa, upholding her inclusion in the lawsuit brought by Mozambique in connection with the hidden debts scandal. The ruling allows English courts to consider whether Clara Martinez Thedy de Safa bears liability, as heir, for the late businessman’s obligations to the Mozambican state.

Judgment [2026] EWCA Civ 1349 confirms, in relation to the widow, the London Commercial Court’s decision of 16 June 2025, which had authorised Mozambique to include her in the action and to serve proceedings on her outside English jurisdiction. Safa, one of the founders of the Privinvest group, died on 29 January 2024, having given testimony during the trial but before the principal judgment was handed down.

The widow had contested her inclusion in the proceedings, challenging, among other grounds, the jurisdiction of the English courts to hear a claim connected to the succession of her husband, who was domiciled in Lebanon.

The judges dismissed those arguments, finding that there are outstanding issues that justify the continuation of proceedings in England. The court drew a distinction between the administration of a foreign estate and the potential liability of the widow for obligations transferred by succession.

Mozambique’s claim is grounded in Lebanese law, under which heirs automatically succeed to both the assets and the debts of the deceased. That liability is, however, limited to each heir’s proportionate share and to the value of the assets received.

Ruling Distinguishes Widow from Children

The position of Iskandar Safa’s sons, Akram and Alejandro, had a different outcome. On 2 June 2026, a Lebanese court confirmed that both had renounced the inheritance. By agreement between the parties, the sons’ appeal was upheld, and the Court of Appeal’s consideration was therefore confined to the widow.

The judgment does not fix any sum to be paid by Clara Safa. Questions remain unresolved regarding the transmission of her husband’s obligations, including whether heirs can be held liable for liabilities not definitively established at the time of death or arising from criminal conduct.

The disclosure of the debts in 2016 triggered a crisis of confidence between Mozambique and its international partners, leading to the suspension of financial support.

Mozambique also clarified that, at this stage, it is not asking the court to establish creditor priority, assess assets, or determine payments from specific assets. It is instead seeking a ruling on the widow’s liability by succession.

According to newspaper O País, citing a source at the Attorney General’s Office, the outcome strengthens the prospects of enforcing the judgment in Mozambique’s favour. The same source referred to judicial and extrajudicial steps to locate assets, and noted a payment of just over US$150,000 in costs awarded to Mozambique — an amount separate from the damages in the principal case.

The ruling follows the judgment of 29 July 2024, in which Judge Robin Knowles found that Privinvest executives had participated in the payment of bribes linked to the contracts and sovereign guarantees that gave rise to the hidden debts.

On 23 December 2024, a court order required Privinvest group companies to pay approximately US$534 million, plus around US$40 million in interest, and to compensate Mozambique for additional obligations. The liability attributed to Safa personally was left subject to further rulings, owing to his death.

The case traces back to approximately US$2 billion in loans contracted in 2013 and 2014 by the state-linked companies ProIndicus, Empresa Moçambicana de Atum (EMATUM), and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM), backed by sovereign guarantees issued without parliamentary approval.

The revelation of the debts in 2016 led to the suspension of international aid and deepened the country’s economic and fiscal crisis. In 2019, Mozambique launched legal proceedings in the United Kingdom to recover its losses.

The continuation of proceedings against the widow opens the way for the courts to assess her liability by succession. The actual recovery of any sums will depend on rulings still to come and on the identification of assets capable of meeting the obligations already recognised.

Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=554672