NEW YORK (AP) — Former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang was convicted Thursday in a financial conspiracy case that welled up from from his country's “ tuna bond ” scandal and swept into a U.S. court.
A federal jury in New York delivered the verdict.
Chang was accused of accepting payoffs to put his African nation secretly on the hook for big loans to government-controlled companies for tuna fishing ships and other maritime projects. The loans were plundered by bribes and kickbacks, according to prosecutors, and Mozambique ended up with $2 billion in “hidden debt,” spurring a financial crisis.
“Today’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and the people of Mozambique who were betrayed by the defendant, a corrupt, high-ranking government official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world,” Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Messages seeking comment were sent to Chang's attorneys and to Mozambique's embassy in Washington. Chang was his country’s top financial official from 2005 to 2015.
Chang had pleaded not guilty to the U.S. conspiracy charges. His lawyers said he was doing as his government wished when he signed off on pledges that Mozambique would repay the loans, and that there was no evidence of a financial quid-pro-quo for him.
No sentencing date was set for Chang, 48. The charges carry the possibility of up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines for any given case can vary depending on a defendant’s history and other factors.
Between 2013 and 2016, three Mozambican-government-controlled companies quietly borrowed $2 billion from major overseas banks. Chang signed guarantees that the government would repay the loans — crucial assurances to lenders who likely otherwise would have shied away from the brand-new companies.
The proceeds were supposed to finance a tuna fleet, a shipyard, and Coast Guard vessels and radar systems to protect natural gas fields off the country's Indian Ocean coast.
But bankers and government officials looted the loan money to line their own pockets, U.S. prosecutors said.
“The evidence in this case shows you that there is an international fraud, money laundering and bribery scheme of epic proportions here,” and Chang “chose to participate,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Genny Ngai told jurors in a closing argument Monday.
Prosecutors accused Chang of collecting $7 million in bribes, wired through U.S. banks to European accounts held by an associate.
Chang's defense said there was no proof that he actually was promised or received a penny.
The only agreement Chang made “was the lawful one to borrow money from banks to allow his country to engage in these public infrastructure works,” defense lawyer Adam Ford said in his summation Monday.
The companies defaulted on the loans, leaving Mozambique with a $2 billion debt, about 12% of the nation's gross domestic product at the time. A country that the World Bank had designated one of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies for two decades was abruptly plunged into financial upheaval.
Growth stagnated, inflation spurted, the currency lost value, international investment and aid plummeted and the government cut services. Nearly 2 million Mozambicans were forced into poverty, according to a 2021 report by the Chr. Michelsen Institute, a development research body in Norway.
The loans had been sold to investors, including through the “tuna bonds.” Some handled money for pension and retirement funds, according to prosecutors.
Investors in the U.S. and elsewhere incurred “substantial losses,” Nicole M. Argentieri, the assistant attorney general who heads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement after the verdic.t
Mozambique’s government has reached out-of-court agreements with creditors in an attempt to pay down some of the debt. At least 10 people have been convicted in Mozambican courts and sentenced to prison over the scandal, including Ndambi Guebuza, the son of former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza.
Chang was arrested at Johannesburg’s main international airport in late 2018, shortly before the U.S. indictment against him and several others became public. After years of fighting extradition from South Africa, Chang was brought to the U.S. last year.
Two British bankers pleaded guilty in the U.S. case, but a jury in 2019 acquitted another defendant, a Lebanese shipbuilding executive. Three other defendants, one Lebanese and two Mozambican, aren't in U.S. custody.
In 2021, a banking giant then known as Credit Suisse agreed to pay at least $475 million to British and U.S. authorities over its role in the Mozambique loans. The bank has since been taken over by onetime rival UBS.
FILE - Former Mozambican finance minister, Manuel Chang, is seen in court in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Phill Magakoe, File)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jason Myers hit a 31-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Seattle Seahawks to a 23-20 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The game-winner capped a three-for-three day for Myers, who ensured the game went into OT with a 38-yard field goal with less than a minute left in regulation. Myers also hit from 44 yards in the second quarter.
“Just sticking to my routine. That’s my goal on every kick, whether it’s the first kick of the game or the game winner. It’s about trying to stay the same,” Myers said. “Coming across the East Coast is never easy for anybody but grinding it out and getting a ‘W’ in the NFL is hard.”
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith led Seattle on an eight-play, 71-yard drive to the New England 13 to set up the winning score. Smith was 33 of 44 for 327 yards on the day, with a 56-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf in the first half.
“He put the team on his back,” Metcalf said of Smith, a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
Metcalf finished with 10 catches for 129 yards.
The Seahawks (2-0) also got a 100-yard receiving game from Jaxon Smith-Njigba (12 catches for 117 yards).
“I want to see the run game lead us just as much as I want to go out there and throw a bunch of touchdowns. However we can get a win, whatever we’ve got to do, I’m just reading the defense and trying to make the right plays,” Smith said.
New England (1-1) won the coin toss heading into overtime but went three-and-out, with Rhamondre Stevenson getting stopped on third and 1.
Playing in their home opener under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots got 81 rushing yards and one touchdown from Stevenson and 96 rushing yards from Antonio Gibson. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 15-for-27 for 149 yards and one touchdown to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk.
The Seahawks kept their hopes for a win alive late in the game after Julian Love blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt that would have put the Patriots up by six with 3:59 left in regulation.
“Just heck of a play, but it’s something you practice all the time, and finally when you have the opportunity, it goes and executes it. That was big-time,” said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald.
Smith subsequently found Metcalf for a pair of completions that got the Seahawks into the red zone. But New England got a stop on third and 1 on the 15-yard line. Seattle was flagged for a delay of game on fourth down and ultimately settled for the game-tying 38-yard field goal by Myers with 55 seconds remaining.
The Patriots marked the 10-year anniversary of their victory over Seattle in the 2015 Super Bowl by welcoming back former players for a halftime celebration. Before the game, Malcolm Butler served as the Keeper of the Light, ringing the bell where the stadium’s lighthouse feature is positioned. Butler sealed New England’s 28-24 Super Bowl win over the Seahawks with a goal line interception with less than a minute remaining.
Though they weren’t present, former players Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Devin McCourty sent video messages. Bill Belichick posted a message to his personal Instagram account, saying, “We all shared a magical ride together.”
Seahawks: LB Derick Hall was evaluated for a concussion but was cleared to return before the start of the second half.
Patriots: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. … LB Oshane Ximines did not return after suffering a knee injury.
Seahawks: Host Miami on Sunday.
Patriots: Visit New York Jets on Thursday night.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) is brought down by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe, center, in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo adjusts his microphone in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, left, blocks a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, right, in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, left, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, greet one another in the center of the field following an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, left, celebrates his touchdown in front of guard Nick Leverett, right, in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson, right, is brought down by Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins, left, in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates with running back Zach Charbonnet (26) after Charbonnet rushed for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) celebrates after running back Zach Charbonnet rushed for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Seattle Seahawks place-kicker Jason Myers, center, boots the winning field goal in front of punter Michael Dickson, left, as New England Patriots safety Brenden Schooler, right, defends in overtime of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Seattle Seahawks place-kicker Jason Myers, center, celebrates with punter Michael Dickson, left, after Myers made the winning field goal in overtime of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
