Mozambique’s former finance minister was sentenced in U.S. federal court to eight and a half years in prison for his role in the $2 billion “tuna bonds” fraud scheme, which nearly brought his country’s economy to the brink of disaster.
Manuel Chang, 69, received $7 million in bribes stemming from $200 million that were siphoned off from a loan ten times that size. The loan was intended to rebuild Mozambique’s shipping and maritime industries, including its tuna sector.
In order to obtain the loan, Chang and his co-conspirators assured participating banks and investors that the funds would not be used for bribes or any sort of illegal activity.
“Chang’s brazen misconduct betrayed his duty to the people of Mozambique and defrauded investors, including those in the United States, of substantial amounts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The $2 billion, which was loaned from a subsidiary of Credit Suisse, was arranged to be distributed amongst companies owned and controlled by the Mozambican government. As finance minister, Chang played a large role in diverting hundreds of millions meant for shipyard maintenance, coastal surveillance, and tuna fishing.
The projects were also marketed to investors worldwide in the form of bonds.
Authorities did not become aware of the fraud scheme until 2016, when more than $200 million had already been stolen to pay off bribes and kickbacks. By that time, Mozambique had defaulted on debt obligations totaling more than $700 million, spiking inflation rates and plunging its economy into disaster.
Credit Suisse and its U.K.-based subsidiary pleaded in 2021 to its role in defrauding international investors in financing $850 million of the total $2 billion loan. The bank, now owned by UBS after a series of fraud and corruption scandals, obtained a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities and paid $475 million in penalties to the American and British governments.
Credit Suisse did not immediately respond when asked to comment on the latest developments in the ‘Tuna Bonds’ case.
Chang, who was found guilty in August 2024 of wire fraud and money laundering, will serve 102 months in prison and must pay back the $7 million he personally stole as restitution.
“With the support of his co-conspirators, Chang violated the trust of his office and wielded his position to enrich himself and other Mozambican officials,” said Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office. “May today’s sentencing reiterate the FBI’s commitment to dismantling all corruptive malpractices orchestrated by foreign governments, especially those targeting our country as their personal piggy-bank.”