- Prosecutors may seek 11 to 14 years in prison for the former Finance Minister
By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The United States New York Eastern District Court is set to announce the sentencing of Mozambique’s former Finance Minister, Manuel Chang, this Friday, 17 January.
Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis has scheduled the sentencing hearing for 11:00 New York time (18.00 Maputo time), during which the length of Chang's prison sentence will be revealed.
Chang was found guilty by a jury in the same court in August 2024, following a trial that lasted approximately one month. The charges related to his criminal involvement in the hidden debts scandal. The jury convicted Chang on both charges against him: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The former minister was accused of receiving seven million US dollars in bribes from the Abu Dhabi-based group Privinvest, in exchange for signing sovereign guarantees that enabled three fraudulent companies, Ematum, ProIndicus, and Mozambique Asset Management (MAM), all run by the Mozambican security service (SISE), to obtain loans from the banks Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia. These loans were purportedly intended to finance tuna fishing, maritime security and shipyard projects, none of which were viable.
When the three companies went predictably bankrupt, the Mozambican state, because of the guarantees signed by Chang, became liable to repay the loans. Thus, what had started as hidden loans became hidden debts.
It later emerged that the projects underpinning the hidden debts were part of a corruption scheme orchestrated by Privinvest, with the complicity of senior Mozambican government officials. Those implicated included the son of the former President, Armando Ndambi Guebuza, the then Director-General of SISE, Gregório Leão, and his deputy Antonio Carlos do Rosario, who chaired all three fake companies.
Chang was arrested in South Africa in December 2018 while transiting to the United Arab Emirates, where he planned to spend his holidays. After nearly five years of legal battles to avoid extradition, Chang exhausted all appeals in South African courts. In July 2023, he was extradited to the United States, where he faced trial a year later.
The hidden debts scandal caused significant economic losses for Mozambique, estimated at over 11 billion US dollars as of 2019, according to a study conducted by Mozambique’s anti-corruption organisation, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP).
US prosecutors are expected to request a prison sentence of 11 to 14 years, while Chang's defence lawyers are likely to argue that he should serve no additional prison time. (MT)
