On 8 June, Ford O’Brien, a United States lawyer hired by former Mozambican Finance Minister, Manuel Chang entered a motion for conference to dismiss the indictment levelled against his now client.
O’Brien argued that since his client had spent over four years in a South African jail, he was seeking “permission to move to dismiss the indictment because the Prosecution’s delay of Mr. Chang’s trial has violated his right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment.“
O’Brien also suggested that the prosecution had lost interest in seeking Chang’s extradition since 2019, when Jean Boustani, Chang’s co-defendant was acquitted of all charges by a jury.
Chang was arrested in December 2018 at the OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, on his way to Dubai, following an arrest warrant by the US, which led to a lengthy extradition battle pitting Mozambique and the US, which ended when on 25 May 2023 the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled in favour of the US.
The US indicted Chang over his role in the $2.2 billion ‘hidden debts’ scandal.
The term “hidden debts” refers to loans worth $2.2 billion obtained from the banks Credit Suisse and VTB Russia by three Mozambican companies, ProIndicus, EMATUM (Mozambique Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management), with the sole contractor and supplier, the Abu Dhabi-based group Privinvest, selling them fishing boats, radar stations and other assets at exceedingly inflated prices, between 2013 and 2014.
As Finance Minister, Chang signed loan guarantees, committing the government to pay the banks in case the companies defaulted, which happened. The state guarantees were bought up by international investors, including American, who ended up being swindled. Thus, the American government’s involvement hinges on the fact that the scheme abused the US financial system.
Comment
Observers claim that the move to dismiss the indictment is nothing but a strategy the defence is using to force the court’s hand. Underlying the motion, is the fact the Chang spent over four years in a South African jail, and the defence would like to use that to have his time reduced should he be convicted.
But for Mozambican observers and the Budget Monitoring Forum, which fought against his extradition to Mozambique, the strategy is irrelevant. What is important is for Chang to appear before a US judge and spill the beans, so to speak.
There is a deep entrenched belief that the trial of the hidden debts in Mozambique hardly scratched the surfaced, as the judge and prosecution worked in tandem to deny Mozambicans an opportunity to have a look behind the scenes.
Indeed, at some stages, the judge behaved as if he was a defence lawyer for some of the people involved in the scandal, including the current president, who was defence minister when the loans were obtained.
First and foremost, is an explanation of how the whole scheme was possible; who were the groups/individuals involved; what was at stake and why the project failed even though this involved a state security project.
Unfortunately, answers to the mystery that could not be provided in Maputo, can hopefully be provided in London and New York because the players and the justice system have been pulling the wool over the eyes of the Mozambican people.
Thius, it seems as if the stage has been reached when Mozambicans are likely to finally know the whole truth and see justice done.
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