Reported by Joe Mille

A former finance minister of Mozambique has been found guilty of accepting $7mn in bribes as part of what became known as the “tuna bonds” scandal, and underwriting a series of bogus investments that ultimately imploded and wrecked the country’s economy.

A Brooklyn jury on Thursday convicted Manuel Chang of conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money laundering over what US prosecutors called a “massive international fraud” carried out more than a decade ago, in which the 68-year-old backed projects that promised to build up the impoverished African state’s coastland, buy fishing vessels and erect shipyards.

Chang and others in turn borrowed up to $2bn from Credit Suisse and VTB Capital, and used some of the funds to funnel kickbacks, prosecutors said. The loans later collapsed into default over the alleged looting, and the IMF, which had been kept partially in the dark about the bonds, cut support to the country after the loans were discovered.

The conviction of Chang, who was arrested in South Africa in 2018 and extradited to the US last year, is the latest in a series of legal repercussions from the scandal, which was one of Africa’s largest corruption cases.

Read full report: https://www.ft.com/content/84f6e35d-a6e1-4d2d-8b95-f9dee7782fa7