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A former finance minister of Mozambique has been discovered responsible of accepting $7mn in bribes as a part of what grew to become often known as the “tuna bonds” scandal, and underwriting a collection of bogus investments that finally imploded and wrecked the nation’s financial system.
A Brooklyn jury on Thursday convicted Manuel Chang of conspiracies to commit wire fraud and cash laundering over what US prosecutors known as a “huge worldwide fraud” carried out greater than a decade in the past, through which the 68-year-old backed tasks that promised to construct up the impoverished African state’s coastland, purchase fishing vessels and erect shipyards.
Chang and others in flip borrowed as much as $2bn from Credit score Suisse and VTB Capital, and used a number of the funds to funnel kickbacks, prosecutors mentioned. The loans later collapsed into default over the alleged looting, and the IMF, which had been stored partially at nighttime concerning the bonds, minimize assist to the nation after the loans had been found.
The conviction of Chang, who was arrested in South Africa in 2018 and extradited to the US final 12 months, is the most recent in a collection of authorized repercussions from the scandal, which was one among Africa’s largest corruption instances.
“In the present day’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and the folks of Mozambique who had been betrayed by the defendant, a corrupt, high-ranking authorities official whose greed and self-interest bought out one of many poorest nations on this planet,” Breon Peace, the US legal professional for the Jap District of New York, mentioned in an announcement.
“Chang now stands convicted of pocketing hundreds of thousands in bribes to approve tasks that finally failed, laundering the cash, and leaving traders and Mozambique caught with the invoice.”
UBS, which purchased Credit score Suisse final 12 months, beforehand settled with Mozambique over Credit score Suisse’s involvement within the fraud, simply earlier than a trial was as a result of begin in London. Final month, a London courtroom awarded the nation greater than $825mn in damages from Privinvest, a Gulf shipbuilder that Justice Robin Knowles discovered had bribed Chang to approve loans. The Excessive Courtroom dominated “considerably in favour” of a declare that the nation was defrauded in loans used to fund tuna boats and different maritime tasks.
A trio of former Credit score Suisse bankers who had organized the loans pleaded responsible in 2019 to dealing with the bribes. Nevertheless, US prosecutors didn’t win a conviction of Jean Boustani, a lieutenant of French-Lebanese shipbuilding magnate Iskandar Safa, who they alleged was a “mastermind” behind a scheme to siphon $200mn of kickbacks from the loans.
Nicknamed “Chopsticks” by his alleged co-conspirators, Chang served as Mozambique’s finance minister from 2004 to January 2015, and was in control of overseeing the nation’s funds.
Whereas within the function, “he selected to take hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in bribes, as a result of he cared about cash over his place”, assistant US legal professional Genny Ngai mentioned in closing arguments on Monday. “He selected to misinform traders to take billions of loans. He selected to launder and legal cash so he wouldn’t be caught.”
Ngai added that Chang, who was first charged by the US in 2018, had personally “signed all the mortgage ensures . . . and he was important to the loans being accepted”.
Adam Ford, a lawyer for Chang, maintained that there was no proof that his consumer “ever obtained a single penny of the $7mn”, and mentioned the tasks had been in actual fact accepted by then-president Armando Guebuza and different ministers.
Chang faces as much as 20 years in jail when he’s sentenced. His lawyer informed reporters that he intends to enchantment in opposition to the decision.
