Former Mozambique finance minister on trial in US over ‘tuna bond’ scandal that spurred debt crisis

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The “tuna bond” scandal that shook Mozambique’s economy is washing into a U.S. court. Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang is being tried on charges that he took bribes to secretly commit his country to huge loans that prosecutors say got looted. Chang has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges. His lawyer says there’s no evidence that Chang agreed to take payoffs in exchange for loan guarantees. The loans were supposed to go in part to tuna fishing ships. A financial crisis erupted in the African nation when the loans went bad and the government’s $2 billion in “hidden debt” came to light in 2016.