Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang is set to be sentenced Friday in a New York court for his role in wire fraud and money laundering related to the infamous “tuna bond” scandal that sent Mozambique into a severe financial crisis.
Chang, 69, was convicted last year for taking bribes to secretly obtain $2 billion in loans from international banks. Those funds, destined for a tuna fishing fleet, shipyard, Coast Guard vessels, and other maritime projects, were allegedly diverted through bribes and kickbacks involving bankers and government officials.
Chang served as finance minister from 2005 through 2015; he could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Prosecutors recommended an 11- to 14-year term but Chang’s side is asking the court for acquittal, with practically nearly six years already spent in custody.
In the trial, the prosecution accused Chang of receiving $7 million in bribes, allegedly wired through US banks to European accounts. They accused Chang and associates of misappropriating more than $200 million by duping investors with misrepresented usage of loans, entailing huge loss of money.
Chang’s defense argued there was no financial quid-pro-quo. He insisted that he merely acted under his government’s direction when signing off on the loans borrowed by three state-controlled companies between 2013 and 2016.
The companies eventually defaulted on the debt, Mozambique finds itself owing its creditors about $2 billion at a time equivalent to around 12% of its then GDP. That hidden debt rose to the surface in 2016, plunged the nation into financial turmoil and set off chain reactions of hardship for nearly two million Mozambicans, severing government services, economic stagnation, roaring inflation, plummeting currency value, and ended international investment and aid.
Chang was arrested in Johannesburg in 2018 and extradited to the US in 2023 after a long legal battle. His case is part of broader efforts to hold those responsible for the scandal accountable, with several convictions already made in Mozambican courts.
