World
Hidden Debts: Credit Suisse, Russia’s VTB Agree to Pay Fines
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
Russia’s VTB Capital and Credit Suisse have agreed to pay fines to the United States and British authorities for their role in a business fraud, which has been known as the “hidden debts” scandal since 2013 in Maputo, Mozambique.
According to reports, after the final ruling on the case the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Credit Suisse has agreed to pay almost $475 million to the United States and British authorities “for fraudulently misleading investors and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Russia’s VTB Capital, currently under sanctions, will pay a $4 million penalty.
According to reports on the “hidden debts” scandal, many United States investors had lost money in what was described as a $2 billion loan scam involving two banks, Credit Suisse and Russia’s VTB bank. The secrecy and corruption surrounding the loans dealt devastating blows to Mozambique’s credibility and reputation. It was the Wall Street Journal that first revealed the hidden debt in April 2016.
The fraud and corruption involved millions of dollars in bribes to sign off on about $2.2 billion in loans from Credit Suisse and the Russian VTB bank to Mozambican government agencies to buy fishing trawlers and military patrol vessels in 2013 and 2014. It involved three security-linked Mozambican companies, Proindicus, Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management).
The loans were only possible because of guarantees issued illegally by the government of the time under the then president Armando Guebuza. The loans and the guarantees violated the 2013 and 2014 budget laws, and the Mozambican Constitution.
“A London-based subsidiary of Russian bank VTB separately agreed to pay more than $6 million to settle SEC charges related to its role in misleading investors in a second 2016 bond offering,” the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced in a statement.
“VTB Capital consented to an SEC order finding that it violated negligence-based antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The VTB agreed to pay “without admitting or denying” the charges of “misleading investors in a second 2016 bond offering,”
According to the SEC order, “the second offering as structured by VTB Capital and Credit Suisse allowed investors to exchange their notes in an earlier bond offering for new sovereign bonds issued directly by the government of Mozambique”.
“The SEC found that the offering materials distributed and marketed by Credit Suisse and VTB Capital failed to disclose the true nature of Mozambique’s debt and the high risk of default on the bonds. The offering materials further failed to disclose Credit Suisse’s discovery that significant funds from the earlier offering had been diverted away from the intended use of proceeds that were disclosed to investors. Mozambique later defaulted on the financings after the full extent of ‘secret debt’ was revealed,” the SEC press release reads.
On October 19, VTB Capital said in an official media release that it had entered into a settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to end the SEC’s investigation into VTB’s involvement in a series of transactions with the Republic of Mozambique. VTB did not admit or deny the allegations in the SEC’s order.
In its order, the SEC expressly recognizes that VTB had no knowledge of or involvement in the corrupt kickback scheme hatched by Mozambican officials and others. The SEC also did not find that VTB engaged in intentional misconduct or fraud.
Instead, the SEC’s findings with respect to VTB centre on alleged disclosure failures in a single transaction: the 2016 EMATUM Exchange offering. Specifically, the SEC has found that VTB was negligent because the offering materials contained misleading statements by Mozambique and omissions that VTB failed to prevent. These alleged disclosure failures, the SEC found, related to (1) the full nature of Mozambique’s indebtedness, and (2) VTB’s role as a lender on two earlier transactions.
The SEC order recognizes the difficult position which VTB was put in by senior Mozambique officials during the offering process, and that VTB itself was defrauded by Mozambique officials. Neither VTB nor any of its personnel was charged with criminal conduct by the United States Department of Justice. No VTB personnel were charged by the SEC in today’s order.
VTB takes the settlement seriously and fully cooperated with the SEC investigation. The settlement announced today marks the end of the SEC’s investigation into VTB’s role in the Mozambique transactions. VTB seeks to hold itself to the highest standards and remains committed to ensuring that VTB clients have the information they need to invest in today’s markets.
VTB has for years, cooperated extensively with all government enquiries. VTB also tried for years to cooperate with the Mozambican government to find a constructive solution to the country’s debt situation. Those efforts to date have been unsuccessful. Accordingly, in 2020, VTB commenced legal proceedings in the English courts to recover the sums due to it. VTB expects to prevail.
VTB will pay a $4 million penalty and disgorge $2 million in fees.
Comment on behalf of VTB Capital:
“The settlement reached today marks the end of the SEC’s investigation into VTB’s role in the Mozambique transactions. As we have previously said, VTB took significant steps to ensure the accuracy of the Eurobond disclosure, which were met with resistance and pressure from a number of other parties engaged in the deal, as the SEC recognized.
“We’d like to emphasize that throughout the numerous international litigations and investigations related to the Mozambique loans, none of our employees has been charged with unlawful conduct.
“VTB operates in a completely open and transparent manner observing the highest levels of corporate governance and compliance in our daily operations, and we remain confident that VTB acted responsibly in this matter, notwithstanding an extensive scheme perpetrated by others. We are confident of our legal position and look forward to finding a solution in the remaining proceedings related to this situation,” according to the VTB Bank.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
World
Russia to Support Industrial Growth, Technological Advancement and Supply Chain Resilience across Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
With the heightening of geopolitical rivalry and competition, a new Russia-Africa working group has emerged as a significant institutional mechanism and plans to focus on facilitating and monitoring strategic investments, industrialisation, and infrastructural development—the Strategic Action Plan 2023-2026—that was outlined during the second Russia-Africa summit, in St.Petersburg, the second largest city in the Russian Federation.
While substantial progress has, largely, lagged on the multidimensional economic front with Africa primarily due to its internal difficulties and the complexity of relations with its former Soviet neighbours, Russian officials believe there still remains huge untapped potential in strengthening bilateral cooperation. As planned, President Vladimir Putin has already signed an executive order that directs Moscow to host the forthcoming third Russia-Africa summit in October 2026.
On June 30, a regular meeting of the Business Council on Africa was held under the chairmanship of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. It was dedicated to issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation with Africa. The group discussed the current state and prospects for the implementation of policy initiatives with an emphasis on assisting the countries of the continent, strengthening their economic, energy, technological and food sovereignty, as well as training specialists for Africa.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated that Russia-Africa relations primarily depend on an understanding of the importance of collective action based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and resolving common tasks. In the past few years, Russia-Africa cooperation has been noticeably strengthening. “We are deepening political dialogues, developing bilateral contacts with African countries, promoting cordial cooperation between ministries and departments, and expanding humanitarian exchanges. We are also continuing the structural diversification of trade partnerships and economic dimensions.”
“Next on the agenda is the launch of diplomatic missions in The Gambia, Liberia, Togo, and the Union of the Comoros,” Lavrov said at a meeting of the Business Council under the Russian foreign minister. Lavrov noted that Russian embassies began operating in three other African countries in 2025: Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. A new Department for Partnership with Africa was also established. According to the top diplomat, “expanding Russia’s diplomatic presence on the continent contributes to developing relations.”
There are already 45 Russian embassies operating in Africa. The Russian foreign minister noted that Moscow is quickly rebuilding its presence in African countries, which sharply declined during the collapse of the Soviet Union. “There will be literally four or five countries left where we still need to establish full-fledged embassies, and then, we will have 100 per cent coverage of the entire African continent with our diplomatic presence,” Lavrov emphasised.
After the first summit in October 2019, the Foreign Ministry also created the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. Its main tasks include controlling the roadmap to Africa’s multidimensional cooperation and guiding potential Russian investors to the continent. This also underscored the priority and post-Soviet solidarity Russia currently attaches to its policy towards Africa, within the growing framework of the emerging new architecture of multipolarity in the Global South.
In an interview in June 2026, the director of the Department of Partnership with Africa at the Foreign Ministry, Tatyana Dovgalenko, shared a few insights in the lead-up to the third summit. Furthermore, Dovgalenko explained that Russia would move away from security to concentrate more on economic issues, especially to team up with African colleagues to streamline mechanisms for implementing projects that will ensure food security and agriculture, and help Africa in installing processing facilities to support its self-sufficiency. She also emphasised energy and vital infrastructures, and the third direction was to simultaneously work more coherently with sub-regional organisations.
Over the past few years, bilateral relations have been increasing. There are positive dynamics in trade turnover, estimated at $30 billion. Steps are being taken to build payment systems, preferably in national currencies, while Russia looks to open four more diplomatic offices, bringing the total to 48 across Africa. Russia is currently training 37,000 African students, but only approximately 1/3 on state scholarships in Russia’s educational institutions. “We are ready to share valuable experiences of building a sovereign development model with African partners to achieve self-reliant economic growth based on their own resources and capabilities. Russia aims at creating processing capabilities and localising production, and provides access to advanced technological solutions,” underlined Dovgalenko in her interview with New Eastern Outlook.
For African countries that have endured difficult decades on the path to political independence, it is now important to take full control over the untapped resources, direct income and revenue toward stimulating the national economic sector, rather than paying for the well-being of the Western “golden billion” during this changing geopolitical era, according to Dovgalenko.
According to reports, the forthcoming Russia-Africa summit will have an economic agenda, including the digital economy, technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, investment, and settlements in global trade. Of course, the agenda will also cover Africa’s political aspects. But if African friends bring along any specific ideas, Russia will give them serious attention. In addition, with continuity and consistency, pay increased attention to expanding ties with Africa’s regional integration associations.
Going forward, the focus will be on translating strong trade relations into deeper investment partnerships, fostering technology collaboration, strengthening industrial linkages and contributing towards the shared objectives set by the leadership of both African countries and Russia. At the third summit, the above-mentioned specific initiatives will be further designed. In this regard, the key document, the new action plan for the next three-year period (2027-2029), is intended to reflect dynamic realities in the future relations of Russia and Africa
