Mozambique can sue Middle East shipbuilder Privinvest over a $2bn corruption scandal in the English courts, Britain’s highest court has ruled.

The African nation is suing the Abu Dhabi-based company, its Lebanese-born owner Iskandar Safa, the Credit Suisse bank and others over the alleged payment of bribes of more than $136m to corrupt Mozambique officials.

The payments were allegedly made to secure three decade-old deals between state-owned Mozambique companies and Privinvest to develop the country’s tuna fishing industry, a shipyard and a coastal defence system.