MOSCOW, January 7. /TASS/. VTB filed a lawsuit in Britain’s High Court against Mozambique's state-owned company Mozambique Asset Management (MAM) due to problems with "general commercial contracts and arrangements", Reuters reported citing court documents.

According to Reuters, the filing was dated December 23 and "names as defendants the Mozambique state and Mozambique Asset Management, which took a $535 million loan from VTB as part of a costly project that U.S. authorities say was an elaborate front for a bribery and kickback scheme". It is not clear whether the case relates to the loan.

Earlier on November 19, VTB head Andrey Kostin said in an interview with Reuters that the bank could make a complaint to the government of Mozambique if by the end of 2019 the parties do not agree on the debt restructuring plan.

In late October, Kostin and President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi discussed plans to restructure the debt of the South African country. VTB hoped to resolve the issue before the end of 2019.