[ad_1]
The arrest of Mozambique's former finance minister, Manuel Chang, at Johannesburg airport during the Christmas holidays triggered a political crisis ahead of elections in the country later this year.
Chang was arrested for lending secret funds to state-owned companies for a total of $ 2 billion, amid a growing scandal that should shake the Frelimo party that has ruled the country since 1975 .
Currently in custody, he is scheduled to appear in Johannesburg court on Friday following a US extradition request by the United States of South America for conspiracy to commit fraud by wire, securities and money laundering.
The case could shatter the extent of government corruption in Mozambique, which relies on aid from donors and is one of the poorest countries in the world.
"It's the biggest crisis of the Frelimo party," Adriano Nuvunga, a professor of political science at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, told AFP.
"There is not a single Frelimo, there are many Frelimos."
Nuvunga predicted that President Filipe Nyusi would still lead Frelimo to electoral victory in elections in October, but said opposition to the ruling party was increasing.
"Young people are rebelling against Frelimo," he said.
Chang was Mozambique's finance minister between 2005 and 2015, under former president Armando Guebuza.
Between 2013 and 2014, security companies owned by the State of Mozambique borrowed approximately $ 2 billion from Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB.
But the government has only leaked most of the debt in 2016.
The hidden debt has plunged Mozambique into its worst financial problems since the independence of Portugal more than 40 years ago.
Frelimo and the government have remained silent since the arrest of Chang, but some party members have spoken out.
"He will be judged, whether in Mozambique, South Africa or the United States," said Tomaz Salomao, himself a former finance minister, on the public television channel Radio Mocambique.
"It's good that it is tried for this to serve as an example."
US prosecutors said Chang received $ 12 million for agreeing to sign loan agreements to finance a tuna fishing fleet and a maritime surveillance project.
Joaquim Chissano, president of Mozambique from 1986 to 2005, also called for justice on the case. "If there are crimes committed, people should be punished," he said.
The current president, Nyusi, was the Minister of Defense when the loans were granted and he signed major contracts for these agreements.
"The arrest of Chang suggests that Nyusi is willing to offer him as a scapegoat … to not be held accountable for the hidden debt scandal," said consulting firm Maplecroft Risk , based in London, describing the strategy as "precarious."
"Nyusi's international critics will undermine his authority within Frelimo before the general election in October," the text added.
Mozambique defaulted on debt last year and the repayment could engulf future revenues generated by natural gas deposits discovered in the north of the country.
But civil society groups have said that loans are illegal and that impoverished Mozambicans should not be burdened with years of heavy repayments.
"The debt was not based on the national interest," said the Center for Public Integrity in a statement to AFP.
"It was the result of a corrupt scheme engendered by Credit Suisse employees … in collusion with senior Mozambican officials and politicians.
"This debt does not belong to us, we do not agree to pay it."
Since Chang's arrest on December 29, three former Credit Suisse employees have also been arrested in London for possible extradition after being charged in New York City.
Lebanese businessman Jean Boustani, accused of having contributed to the coordination of the alleged fraud, was also arrested in January in the Dominican Republic and sent to the United States.
About $ 200 million was spent on bribes and kickbacks, according to the US indictment.
Sign up for News24's main African News in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO HELLO
NEWSLETTER AFRICA
FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link
