A US court has convicted a Mozambican former finance minister over a 10-year-old conspiracy that triggered the worst economic crisis in his home country since independence.
Manuel Chang was found guilty of accepting pay-offs through US banks for approving secret loans.
Read also: Kenya’s Health Ministry Confirms Second Ebola Case In Seven Days
The loans were intended to pay for a fleet of tuna fishing ships and other projects, leading to the affair being dubbed the “tuna bond” scandal.
But the loans were plundered, leaving Mozambique $2bn (£1.5bn) in debt.
Chang was arrested in South Africa in 2018, and extradited to the US the following year to face fraud and money-laundering charges.
Read also: Two ANC Members Killed In South Africa Campaign Shooting
The Mozambican authorities had wanted Chang to be sent back to be tried on home soil, instead of in the US.
He will be sentenced later, potentially facing 20 years in prison. Chang had denied the charges and his lawyers say he plans to appeal the verdict.
Analysts say it is one of the biggest corruption cases seen on the African continent.
Ten other people have been imprisoned in Mozambique over the scandal, including the son of then-President Armando Guebuza.
The loans were issued by Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB and guaranteed by the Mozambican government.
Read also: Kenya Records Third Ebola Case, Linked To First Patient Who Died
But some of these loans were not disclosed and were signed off by Chang during his term as finance minister between 2005 and 2015.
The court in New York heard that Chang had pocketed $7m in bribes from the shipbuilding firm Privinvest, but his lawyer said there was no evidence Chang had received “a single penny” and said the projects were approved former President Guebuza and other ministers.
