Credit Suisse and Mozambique have reached an out-of-court settlement over the "hidden debt" affair, with the parties "mutually" releasing each other from any liability, UBS, which bought out its Swiss rival, said on Sunday.

The announcement comes as a trial was due to open in London's High Court on Monday into the scandal that plunged Mozambique, one of Africa's poorest countries, into deep crisis.

The agreement, transmitted by UBS in an e-mail to AFP, states that Mozambique and Crédit Suisse "have amicably settled the legal proceedings initiated in London".

"The parties have mutually released each other from all liability and claims relating to the transactions" and "are pleased to have resolved this long-standing dispute", it says.

On Friday, the Financial Times had reported that banking giant UBS was keen to seal a "last-minute" out-of-court agreement with Mozambique ahead of the trial in London, to spare Credit Suisse a battle in the courts.

To prevent Credit Suisse from going bankrupt, UBS was forced in March to buy out its former subsidiary under pressure from the Swiss authorities, and must now settle the numerous cases that had rocked the bank.

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