By Frank Kamuntu
Former Mozambique finance minister, Manual Chang, was sentenced on Friday in a New York court in to eight and a half years in prison, six of which he has already spent behind bars in the United States and South Africa.
Chang was convicted in August last year for his role in the so-called “hidden debt” graft scandal that sparked an economic crisis in his home country.
He was found guilty of accepting $7 million in bribes in exchange for signing off on about $2 billion in secret loans to state-owned companies from major overseas banks.
They were supposed to pay for a projects including the purchase of a tuna fishing fleet and improvements to maritime security.
Instead, the funds were plundered through bribes and kickbacks, the projects collapsed and the companies defaulted.
This left investors with millions of dollars in losses and Mozambique stuck with a $2 billion debt, equal to about 12 per cent of its gross domestic product at the time.
This resulted in donors like the IMF and the World Bank temporarily halting support to the country, triggering a currency collapse and financial turmoil.
In court on Friday, Chang apologised saying he thought at the time that the projects would be good for Mozambique, but has since come to realise his actions were wrong.
The judge ordered Chang be credited for the years he was held in custody awaiting trial.
This means he will be eligible to be released from the US prison and deported to Mozambique after two and a half years.
Chang’s lawyers say he will appeal the conviction.
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