{"id":4294,"date":"2021-08-12T12:21:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T12:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2021-08-12T11:39:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T11:39:07","slug":"dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim","title":{"rendered":"Dutch company fined for role in \u201chidden debts\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Mozambique<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>A Dutch appeals court has upheld a fine imposed by the Dutch central bank \u201cDe Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)\u201d against the TMF group for failings in due diligence related to the scandal of Mozambique\u2019s \u201chidden debts\u201d, according to a report published by the Mozambican civil society coalition, the Budgetary Monitoring Forum (FMO).<\/p>\n

The term \u201chidden debts\u201d refers to the loans, in 2013 and 2014, of over two billion US dollars granted by the banks Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia to three fraudulent, security-linked Mozambican companies, Proindicus, Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management).<\/p>\n

The negotiations leading up to the loans involved at least three corrupt officials from Credit Suisse, who have admitted to taking bribes, and officials of the Abu Dhabi based group Privinvest , notably Jean Boustani. Between them, they ensured that the Mozambican government of the day, led by Armando Guebuza, issued illegal loan guarantees, covering the entire two billion dollars.<\/p>\n

The effect of the guarantees was that, if the companies defaulted (as they have done), then the Mozambican government would be held liable for repaying the loans. But the guarantees violated the budget laws of 2013 and 2014 and the Mozambican constitution. The loans and their guarantees have been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council, Mozambique\u2019s highest body in matters of constitutional law.<\/p>\n

Privinvest, which became the sole contractor for the three fraudulent companies, sat at the heart of a network of corruption. According to US prosecutors investigating the case, Privinvest used at least 200 million dollars of the loan money for bribes and kickbacks.<\/p>\n

Unlike the loans to Proindicus and MAM, which were clandestine, and only came to public knowledge in April 2016, the Ematum loan had to be public since it took the form of bonds issued on the European market. But for this to happen, Ematum needed European collaborators. It hired the TMF Group, which is a Dutch-based supplier of fiduciary services, to act as its agent.<\/p>\n

Service providers such as TMF serve foreign business clients by, for example, offering them a Dutch business address. So in 2013, TMV registered a company calling itself \u201cMo\u00e7ambique EMATUM B.V.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even today, according to FMO, the Dutch commercial register shows that TMF acts as the sole general director of \u201cEMATUM B.V.\u201d.<\/p>\n

This Dutch company was the vehicle used to issue the Ematum bonds. Using the illegal loan guarantees signed by Guebuza\u2019s Finance Minister Manuel Chang, Ematum obtained 850 million dollars from Credit Suisse and VTB. The role of \u201cEMATUM B.V.\u201d was to issue the \u201cnotes of participation\u201d (bonds), which were due to expire in just seven years, in 2020.<\/p>\n

The stated purpose of the Ematum loan was to build up a tuna fishing fleet and for coastal protection. The fishing boats sold to Ematum by Privinvest at vastly inflated prices did put out to sea a couple of times, but never sold enough fish to make a dent in the loan repayment.<\/p>\n

As early as 2015 it was clear that Ematum was heading for bankruptcy and 2014 was the last year for which Ematum published a financial report.<\/p>\n

The only way to continue the fraud was to restructure the debt, and this was done in April 2016 \u2013 just weeks before the whole house of cards came tumbling down with the exposure of the Proindicus and MAM loans, and public knowledge of the true scale of Mozambique\u2019s foreign debt.<\/p>\n

When the auditing company Kroll audited Ematum in 2017, it found that TMF Management B.V. was one of the companies paid for its role in restructuring the Ematum debt.<\/p>\n

The DNB began investigating TMF\u2019s role in the Ematum bonds in 2016. It found that TMF had committed \u201cserious\u201d violations of trust and fined it 594,000 euros (about 696,000 US dollars, at current exchange rates).<\/p>\n

TMF took the case to appeal, arguing that DNB was not the appropriate body to impose fines arising from violations of banking prudential rules. But it admitted that the Mozambican dossier had not been adequately monitored. It also claimed it could not be held responsible for the use of the Ematum funds.<\/p>\n

The fine was upheld, but reduced in value to the equivalent of 644,500 dollars.<\/p>\n

The FMO is far from satisfied with this outcome, and argues that TMF should also have faced criminal charges. The behaviour of TMF \u201cas facilitator of an international fraud\u201d was not a matter of regulation, but \u201ca criminal act which should have been dealt with in the system of criminal justice\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n

The FMO urged the Dutch authorities to ensure that the Public Prosecutor and not just DNB investigates TMF. It points out that, without facilitators, schemes such as the \u201chidden debts\u201d could never have happened.<\/p>\n

It called on TMF to make reparations for its role in the scandal, by returning to Mozambique any income it earned from the scheme and by compensating Mozambique for the damage caused.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. A Dutch appeals court has upheld a fine imposed by the Dutch central bank \u201cDe Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)\u201d against the TMF group for failings in due diligence related to the scandal of Mozambique\u2019s \u201chidden debts\u201d, according to a report published by the Mozambican civil society coalition, the Budgetary Monitoring Forum (FMO). The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8,16],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\nDutch company fined for role in \u201chidden debts\u201d - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Dutch appeals court has upheld a fine imposed by the Dutch central bank \u201cDe Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)\u201d against the TMF ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dutch company fined for role in \u201chidden debts\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Dutch appeals court has upheld a fine imposed by the Dutch central bank \u201cDe Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)\u201d against the TMF ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-12T12:21:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2021\/08\/img-6115083482d31.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"510\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Dutch company fined for role in \u201chidden debts\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-12T12:21:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\"},\"wordCount\":815,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2021\/08\/img-6115083482d31.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mozambique\",\"Mozambique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/dutch-company-fined-for-role-in-hidden-debts-aim\",\"name\":\"Dutch company fined for role in \u201chidden debts\u201d - 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