CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Mozambique ex-president's son, ex-spy bosses jailed for 12 years for graftStory by AFP •
A Mozambican court on Wednesday sentenced two ex-spy bosses and the son of a former president to 12 years each for their part in a corruption scandal in which the government sought to conceal huge debts, triggering financial havoc.
Former president Armando Guebuza, seated, greets his son Ndambi, a defendant, at the session on November 30 when verdicts began to be read out© Alfredo Zuniga
The former head of security and intelligence, Gregorio Leao; the head of the security service’s economic intelligence division, Antonio do Rosario; and ex-president Armando Guebuza’s son Ndambi Guebuza were among 19 defendants accused in the country's biggest graft scandal.
"The crimes committed have brought consequences whose effects will last for generations," said Judge Efigenio Baptista.
The scandal arose after state-owned companies in the impoverished country illicitly borrowed $2 billion (1.9 billion euros) in 2013 and 2014 from international banks to buy a tuna-fishing fleet and surveillance vessels.
The government masked the loans from parliament and the public.
When the "hidden debt" finally surfaced in 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors cut off financial support, triggering a sovereign debt default and currency collapse.
An independent audit found $500 million of the loans had been diverted. The money remains unaccounted for.
Handing down the sentence following after a week of reading the verdicts, the judge said the scam "aggravated the impoverishment of thousands of Mozambicans."
"The country became famous for the worst reasons," he said.
Leao and do Rosario were found guilty of embezzlement and abuse of power, while Guebuza was convicted for embezzlement, money laundering and criminal association among other charges.
str-ub/sn/ri
Mozambique court finds former president's son, others guilty over $2 billion scandal
Story by By Manuel Mucari • Yesterday
Verdict in the $2 Billion "hidden debt" case in Mozambique© Thomson Reuters
MAPUTO (Reuters) - A Mozambican court on Wednesday found a former president's son and 10 other people guilty on charges related to a $2 billion "hidden debt" scandal that crashed the southern African nation's economy, sentencing them each to more than 10 years in prison.
Eight of 19 individuals, including state security officials, who had been on trial on charges such as money laundering, bribery and blackmail were acquitted by the court.
Armando Ndambi Guebuza, son of former president Armando Guebuza, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the scandal, which saw hundreds of millions of dollars in government-backed loans disappear. Others who were convicted were handed sentences of between 10 and 12 years.
Verdict of the court relating to the $2 Billion "hidden debts" in Mozambique© Thomson Reuters
"Armando Ndambi Guebuza showed no remorse for committing the crime and he maintains that he has been targeted for political reasons," Judge Efigenio Baptista of the Maputo City Court said.
"Ndambi still does not reckon that he wrongfully benefited from $33 million that the Mozambican people badly need."
Two top intelligence service officials, General Director Gregorio Leao and head of the economic unit, Antonio Carlos do Rosario, were each sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The judge said those convicted had by their actions helped impoverish Mozambique's people.
"The defendants tarnished the good image of the country abroad and in the international markets, with enduring and hard-to-repair effects," he said.
In 2016, Mozambique unveiled hefty state-backed borrowing it had previously failed to disclose to parliament or donors like the International Monetary Fund. The scandal prompted the IMF and other donors to cut off support, triggering a currency collapse and debt default.
The debt, including an $850 million Eurobond dubbed the "tuna bond", was ostensibly raised to develop a tuna fishing industry and other projects, including maritime security.
An independent audit found in 2017 that the government had not done enough to explain how funds were spent and that roughly a quarter of the money was unaccounted for.
Much of the money raised for the fishing project was diverted via kickbacks to bankers and Mozambique officials.
In a separate case related to the loans, Credit Suisse Group agreed to pay about $475 million to American and British authorities to resolve bribery and fraud charges.
A London-based subsidiary of Russian bank VTB also agreed to pay $6 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges it misled investors.
"It is proven that the defendants swindled state funds loaned by Credit Suisse and VTB which were supposed to be used to protect the special economic zone," the judge said during sentencing on Wednesday.
(Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege, John O'Donnell and Catherine Evans)
Story by By Manuel Mucari • Yesterday
Verdict in the $2 Billion "hidden debt" case in Mozambique© Thomson Reuters
MAPUTO (Reuters) - A Mozambican court on Wednesday found a former president's son and 10 other people guilty on charges related to a $2 billion "hidden debt" scandal that crashed the southern African nation's economy, sentencing them each to more than 10 years in prison.
Eight of 19 individuals, including state security officials, who had been on trial on charges such as money laundering, bribery and blackmail were acquitted by the court.
Armando Ndambi Guebuza, son of former president Armando Guebuza, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the scandal, which saw hundreds of millions of dollars in government-backed loans disappear. Others who were convicted were handed sentences of between 10 and 12 years.
Verdict of the court relating to the $2 Billion "hidden debts" in Mozambique© Thomson Reuters
"Armando Ndambi Guebuza showed no remorse for committing the crime and he maintains that he has been targeted for political reasons," Judge Efigenio Baptista of the Maputo City Court said.
"Ndambi still does not reckon that he wrongfully benefited from $33 million that the Mozambican people badly need."
Two top intelligence service officials, General Director Gregorio Leao and head of the economic unit, Antonio Carlos do Rosario, were each sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The judge said those convicted had by their actions helped impoverish Mozambique's people.
"The defendants tarnished the good image of the country abroad and in the international markets, with enduring and hard-to-repair effects," he said.
In 2016, Mozambique unveiled hefty state-backed borrowing it had previously failed to disclose to parliament or donors like the International Monetary Fund. The scandal prompted the IMF and other donors to cut off support, triggering a currency collapse and debt default.
The debt, including an $850 million Eurobond dubbed the "tuna bond", was ostensibly raised to develop a tuna fishing industry and other projects, including maritime security.
An independent audit found in 2017 that the government had not done enough to explain how funds were spent and that roughly a quarter of the money was unaccounted for.
Much of the money raised for the fishing project was diverted via kickbacks to bankers and Mozambique officials.
In a separate case related to the loans, Credit Suisse Group agreed to pay about $475 million to American and British authorities to resolve bribery and fraud charges.
A London-based subsidiary of Russian bank VTB also agreed to pay $6 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges it misled investors.
"It is proven that the defendants swindled state funds loaned by Credit Suisse and VTB which were supposed to be used to protect the special economic zone," the judge said during sentencing on Wednesday.
(Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by James Macharia Chege, John O'Donnell and Catherine Evans)
No comments:
Post a Comment