Manuel Chang, a former finance minister of Mozambique, was on Thursday convicted by a U.S. federal jury on charges related to a massive fraud involving $2 billion in loans intended to boost the country’s fishing industry. The conviction, handed down after a three-week trial in Brooklyn, New York, found Chang guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case widely known as the “tuna bonds” scandal.
Following the verdict, Chang’s defense attorney, Adam Ford, announced plans to appeal the decision, asserting his client’s innocence.
Prosecutors argued that Chang received $7 million in bribes from Privinvest, a shipbuilding company, in exchange for approving government guarantees on loans for three state-owned companies. These loans, sourced from Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB, were supposed to develop Mozambique’s fishing industry and enhance maritime security. According to prosecutors, Chang funneled the bribe money into a Swiss bank account controlled by an associate and instructed other officials to communicate with Privinvest to mask the illicit payments.
The projects financed by these loans ultimately failed, leading the state-backed companies to default, which resulted in significant losses for investors. The fallout from the scandal was severe, causing the International Monetary Fund and other donors to temporarily suspend support, leading to a currency crisis and economic turmoil in Mozambique.
Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, hailed the verdict as “an inspiring victory for justice and the people of Mozambique.” He condemned Chang as “a corrupt, high-ranking government official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world.”
In his defense, Ford argued that Chang approved the guarantees under orders from Mozambique’s president and claimed there was no proof that the $7 million was intended for Chang. “That money never went to Minister Chang,” Ford asserted during his closing argument.
The case has seen multiple guilty pleas, including two former Credit Suisse bankers who admitted their involvement in 2019 and testified against Chang. However, another defendant, Privinvest salesman Jean Boustani, was acquitted in a 2019 trial after denying any role in marketing the loans to investors.
Prosecutors revealed that officials and bankers siphoned off $200 million from the $2 billion raised for the projects between 2013 and 2016. Credit Suisse, which was recently acquired by UBS, agreed to pay $475 million in 2021 to settle related bribery and fraud charges in both the U.S. and the UK.
In a separate legal battle, Mozambique recently won the majority of its $3.1 billion lawsuit in London’s High Court against Privinvest, alleging that the company paid bribes to Mozambican officials and Credit Suisse bankers to secure favorable loan terms. Privinvest has stated its intention to appeal the ruling, denying the court’s finding that it paid bribes to Chang and resisting the payment of substantial damages.
