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South Sudan government has been ordered to pay US$657 million to the Cairo-based Afreximbank by a court in London in a debt dispute brought against the government last year.

According to Global Trade Review, the court judge Lionel Persey KC granted summary judgment in favour of Afreximbank, which had been seeking to enforce repayments under three agreements worth US$63mn, US$250mn, and US$400mn.

Sitting judge Lionel Persey KC agreed, granting summary judgment, with South Sudan not attending the hearing.

“I am satisfied that the defendants have no real prospect of successfully defending the claims against them. Nor is there any other compelling reason for a trial,” Judge Persey said.

South Sudan did not attend the passing of judgment.

Under a 2019 facility, Afrex-imbank had approved a $400 million loan for South Sudan intended to be used for trade-enabling infrastructure, “among other things”, the filing reveals.

In August 2020, Afrex-imbank then extended $63 million to South Sudan under its Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility, to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the court documents reviewed by GTR.

Again, in December 2020, Afreximbank and South Sudan entered into another pandemic facility worth $250 million to boost South Sudan’s trade sector and fiscal position, while also helping with the procurement of medical supplies during the Covid-19 crisis.

In February, when the case first emerged, Eye Radio verified the figures from a report capturing South Sudan’s external debts at the Ministry of Finance and Planning’s website, which indicated that the country owes Afreximbank around $650 million.

In 2022, former Minister of Finance and Planning Agak Acuil disclosed South Sudan’s external debts, owed to international financial institutions, at 2.05 billion US dollars.