By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A court in New York, United States, on Friday sentenced a former Mozambican finance minister, Manuel Chang, to eight and a half years in prison in a graft-related case.
The former minister, who has already spent six years of his jail sentence in detention in the United States and South Africa, was convicted in August last year in connection with his role in the so-called “hidden debt” corruption scandal that led to a severe economic crisis in his country.
He was found guilty of abuse of office in his capacity as a minister in the southern African country when he accepted $7 million in bribes in exchange for signing off on approximately $2 billion in secret loans to state-owned companies from foreign banks.
The loan was secured to finance projects, including the purchase of a tuna fishing fleet and improvements to maritime security in the country.
However, the loan was mismanaged through bribes and kickbacks, leaving the projects struggling and eventually collapsing.
The state-owned firms defaulted and were unable to repay the loan.
Investors incurred huge losses amounting to millions of dollars, while Mozambique, despite the plundering of the loan, faced a $2 billion debt, which equated to 12 per cent of its gross domestic product at the time.
In response, foreign donors, including the IMF and the World Bank, temporarily suspended support to the former Portuguese colony, a development that led to currency collapse and financial turmoil.
In court on Friday, Chang apologised, saying he had thought at the time that the projects would benefit Mozambique but had since come to realise his actions were wrong.
The judge ordered that Chang be credited for the years he was held in custody awaiting trial.
This means he will be eligible for release from the US prison and deportation to Mozambique after two and a half years.
