Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against former Finance Minister Manuel Chang, also involved in the so-called ‘hidden debts’ case, in another case for corruption and other crimes, the entity said in a statement.
A statement, to which Lusa had access today, advances that Chang is accused of passive corruption for an unlawful act, economic participation in business, abuse of office or function and money laundering.
The allegation is part of a second criminal case for corruption that Manuel Chang is facing, he is also being the target of an extradition request by the Mozambican authorities for his alleged involvement in the ‘hidden debts’ case.
The investigation at the centre of the accusation is related to alleged undue payments made by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to the former Minister of Finance and three other defendants, including the former Minister of Transport and Communications Paulo Zucula.
Odebrecht paid the alleged bribes as part of its participation in infrastructure projects in the Zona Franca Industrial de Nacala, in Nampula province, northern Mozambique, and in the construction of a coal terminal in the city of Beira, in Sofala province, in the centre of the country.
The investigation into this led the Attorney General’s Office requesting judicial cooperation from Brazil, Angola, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, the statement said.
Although the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not mention this, Paulo Zucula was detained in the context of the aforementioned process, but was released pending a decision on his appeal to a higher court.
Manuel Chang, Paulo Zucula and two other defendants are accused of having received bribes from Odebrecht to allow the Brazilian contractor to take over the construction work at Nacala International Airport.
Manuel Chang has been detained in South Africa since December, 2018, and is the subject of two extradition requests, one from Mozambique and the other from the United States of America, for his alleged involvement in the hidden debts case.
A total of 19 defendants are accused by the Mozambican authorities of involvement in a scheme that defrauded the state of more than US$2.7 billion (€2.6 million) in debt contracted with international banks between 2013 and 2014. The loans were guaranteed by the Government of Mozambique without the knowledge of parliament or the Administrative Tribunal.
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