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- Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang was extradited on Wednesday.
- Chang was the central figure in a R38 billion government borrowing scandal.
- Ten of his co accused were handed 10- to 12-year jail terms in Mozambique last year.
Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang departed for the US on Wednesday after he was extradited to face fraud and corruption charges.
Chang was handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by South African authorities.
He left the country on board a US government-owned Gulfstream G550, which departed from Lanseria International Airport at 10:46, according to a flight tracker.
Since 2018, Chang has been jailed in South Africa while Mozambique authorities fought to have him extradited to Maputo.
Civil society in Mozambique lobbied for his extradition to the US because they felt back home he would not face justice; instead, he was a person of interest for politicians who intended to hide their part in the scandal.
READ | Mozambique's former finance minister Manuel Chang to be tried in US as ConCourt rejects appeal
Chang was the central figure in what came to be known as the "Tuna Scandal," whereby, in 2013 and 2014, three companies borrowed about R38 billion in public debt without the approval of Parliament.
However, the government was used as guarantor, in a scandal that would potentially cripple the country's economy.
The funds were allegedly used to fund other transactions involving businesses in which the state had a significant stake, as well as the acquisition of a sizable tuna plant and a maritime surveillance fleet.
In 2016, Mozambique unveiled hefty state-backed borrowing it had previously failed to disclose to Parliament or donors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Credit Suisse, Russian bank VTB, and American funders.
More than a quarter of the borrowed money was not accounted for when auditors started investigating.
The scandal prompted the IMF and other donors to cut off support, triggering a currency collapse and debt default.
Chang to this day maintains he is not guilty.
His 11 co-accused were tried in Mozambique, including Armando Ndambi Guebuza, the son of former president Armando Guebuza.
Guebuza was handed a 12-year sentence while maintaining he was politically persecuted.
Eight of 19 individuals, including state security officials, who had been on trial on charges such as money laundering, bribery, and blackmail, were acquitted.
Credit Suisse consented to pay approximately US$475 million to American and British authorities in a separate lawsuit involving the loans to resolve allegations of bribery and fraud.
A London-based division of Russian bank VTB also consented to pay US$6 million to resolve claims of investor misinformation brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
