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LONDON (Alliance News) - Pathfinder Minerals PLC on Wednesday said the English High Court has given the all-clear for the company to reclaim funds it is owed from a former Mozambique State Security Minister and his associates against the stakes they hold in the London-listed company.
Pathfinder has been embroiled in a cross-border court case for years that has resulted in different rulings from the Mozambique Supreme Court and the English High Court over the ownership of a company called Companhia Mineira de Naburi SARL which held all of Pathfinder's producing assets.
Pathfinder launched legal action in both England and Mozambique against General Jacinto Soares Veloso and his company JV Consultores Internacionais Limitada, alongside Veloso's associate Diogo Cavaco.
The dispute concerns the status of the shareholding of Pathfinder's wholly owned subsidiary, IM Minerals Ltd, in Companhia Mineira de Naburi. Pathfinder had been pursuing legal action in both nations to try to get back assets it claims were seized by former Mozambique State Security Minister General Veloso.
Late in 2014, English courts ruled that Pathfinder and its subsidiary validly acquired its 99.9% stake in Companhia Mineira de Naburi, and provided the basis for Pathfinder's application to have the English judgements recognised in, and enforced by, the Mozambique Supreme Court
The English courts also ruled that Veloso and the other defendants were liable to pay for the legal costs incurred by Pathfinder as a result of the dispute, worth a total of around GBP1.1 million.
However, the Mozambique Court rejected that claim, and Veloso and his associates have not complied with any of the court orders.
The English High Court has now made final charging orders against the 19.8 million shares held by Veloso, his company and Cavaco in Pathfinder, allowing the London-listed company to reclaim those costs, plus interest, through the shares the defendants hold in the company.
Charging orders allow debt or charges to be secured against an asset, in this case the shares held in Pathfinder by Veloso and his associates.
Pathfinder said the total amount owed to the company is now in excess of GBP1.4 million, and said the charging orders over the shares is an "important step in the enforcement in England".
No further details were provided by Pathfinder.
Those 19.8 million shares represent around a 14.5% stake in Pathfinder and, based on the company's current share price, would be worth a total of around GBP165,530.
Pathfinder shares were trading down 1.8% to 0.835 pence per share on Wednesday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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