Luanda - A court in New York said it had no powers to decide on the case filed by Aenergy SA against the Angolan government and referred the case to the Angolan justice system, according to the US press.
The case is a lawsuit brought in the US by the company Aenergy, in a case about the supply of General Electric's electric turbines, whose contract was cancelled by the Angolan government.
In the ruling, issued Wednesday, the judge in the case, John P. Cronan, gave the parties 30 days to present an agreement, in which they submit to Angolan jurisdiction to settle the dispute that dates back to 2019.
Cronan noted that the federal jurisdiction in New York "does not have jurisdiction" to deal with the case and that the Angolan justice system "is the appropriate forum" to decide on the case, which relates to alleged contract fraud worth USD 1.1 billion.
With this decision, the New York court welcomed the request presented by the Angolan government, in September 2020, for the case to be referred to arbitration, arguing that the parties were bound by arbitration clauses.
The US district judge argued that when Aenergy SA and its subsidiary conducted their business, in Angola, with the Angolan government, they decided to "subject themselves to the Angolan law".
The business relationship between Aenergy and the Angolan government began, in 2017, when the energy company was contracted to build and operate several power plants.
