A U.S. jury has found that Manuel Chang did indeed receive seven million dollars in bribes in exchange for approving a government guarantee for loans to three state-owned companies. The judge will now determine the sentence, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
It should be noted that the former minister was accused, along with other co-defendants, of defrauding foreign investors by converting Ematum’s debt into securities, known as “eurobonds,” which were placed on the market by the banks holding the debt.
Manuel Chang, former Mozambican Finance Minister, was thus convicted this Thursday in the United States for his role in a two-billion-dollar fraud involving loans to three state-owned companies aimed at developing the fishing industry in Mozambique.
The jury found Manuel Chang guilty of conspiracy to commit “wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering” in the case known as the “Tuna Bonds,” or more commonly in Mozambique, the “Hidden Debts” scandal.
Chang now plans to appeal the conviction, his defense attorney, Adam Ford, told reporters as they left the courthouse.
According to the prosecution, the shipbuilding company Privinvest paid Manuel Chang seven million dollars in bribes in exchange for the Mozambican government’s approval of guarantees for loans to three state-owned companies to develop the country’s fishing industry and enhance maritime security.
The loans were granted by Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB.
The former finance minister received the funds through a Swiss bank account controlled by a friend, while other Mozambican officials arranged bribes with Privinvest in an attempt to cover for Chang, according to the prosecution.
The projects ultimately collapsed, and the state-owned companies were left bankrupt due to the loans, causing millions of dollars in losses for investors.
The judge is expected to take two to three months to determine Chang’s prison sentence.
The penalties for the crimes Chang has been accused of could reach up to 12 years in prison, and the former finance minister under Guebuza has already served nearly five years since his arrest in December 2018 in Johannesburg.
The trial lasted three weeks and was held at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
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