By 
MAPUTO — A US court has convicted former Mozambican Finance Minister, Manuel Chang, for his role in a decade-old conspiracy that plunged Mozambique into its worst economic crisis since independence.
Chang was found guilty of accepting pay-offs through US banks in exchange for approving secret loans, which were intended to fund a fleet of tuna fishing ships and other projects.
The scandal, dubbed the “tuna bond” affair, left Mozambique US$2 billion in debt after the funds were plundered.
The former minister was arrested in South Africa in 2018 and extradited to the US the following year to face charges of fraud and money laundering.
Despite Mozambique’s efforts to have him tried on home soil, the US proceeded with the case.
Chang, who denied the charges, faces a potential 20-year prison sentence but plans to appeal the verdict, according to his lawyers.
Analysts have described the case as one of the most significant corruption scandals ever seen on the African continent.
In Mozambique, ten other individuals, including the son of former President Armando Guebuza, have already been imprisoned in connection with the scandal.
The loans at the center of the scandal were issued by Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB, with guarantees from the Mozambican government.
However, some of these loans were not disclosed and Chang signed them off during his tenure as finance minister between 2005 and 2015.
During the trial in New York, it was revealed that Chang had allegedly pocketed $7 million in bribes from the shipbuilding firm Privinvest.
However, Chang’s lawyer argued that there was no evidence that his client received “a single penny” and maintained that the projects had been approved by former President Guebuza and other ministers.
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