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Mozambique Indicts 20 People Over $2 Billion Hidden-Debt Scandal

  • Charges include money laundering, blackmail, abuse of office
  • Authorities now go after ex-finance minister for alleged role
Maputo, Mozambique

Maputo, Mozambique

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
Updated on

Mozambique charged 20 people, including the son of former President Armando Guebuza, over a fraud scam in which state-owned companies contracted $2 billion in debt for dubious projects.

Legal action may follow against former finance minister Manuel Chang, who Mozambican authorities as well as the U.S Justice Department want for his alleged role in approving government guarantees for foreign debt of $2 billion in 2013-14. Chang, currently being held in South Africa on U.S. charges, is no longer immune from prosecution after he resigned as a lawmaker effective July 19.