The former finance minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang, has been sentenced by a US court for his role in the fraud scandal surrounding the so-called "tuna bonds". He is alleged to have embezzled large sums of the billion-euro loan arranged by Credit Suisse. The court in Brooklyn found Chang guilty of fraud and money laundering on Thursday, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday night. He is said to have accepted a seven million dollar bribe to sign state guarantees for a two billion dollar loan to the African country, which was intended, among other things, for the construction of a tuna fleet. Chang, now 68, and his "co-conspirators" diverted a total of more than 200 million dollars of the loan to pay bribes and kickbacks for themselves and others, according to the statement. He had not only abused the trust of the Mozambican people, but had also caused high losses for investors in the USA and elsewhere, the court stated. Prison sentence of up to 20 years The loans and ...
