US jury convicts Mozambique’s ex-finance minister Manuel Chang in ‘tuna bonds’ corruption case

abcnews.go.com:

A U.S. jury has convicted former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang in a bribe conspiracy case that welled up from from his country’s “tuna bond” scandal

NEW YORK — Former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang was convicted Thursday in a bribe conspiracy case that welled up from from his country's “ tuna bond ” scandal and swept into a U.S. court.

A federal jury in New York delivered the verdict.

Chang was accused of accepting payoffs to put his African nation secretly on the hook for big loans to government-controlled companies for tuna fishing ships and other maritime projects. The loans were plundered by bribes and kickbacks, according to prosecutors, and Mozambique ended up with $2 billion in “hidden debt,” spurring a financial crisis.

“Today’s verdict is an inspiring victory for justice and the people of Mozambique who were betrayed by the defendant, a corrupt, high-ranking government official whose greed and self-interest sold out one of the poorest countries in the world,” Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

Messages seeking comment were sent to Chang's attorneys and to Mozambique's embassy in Washington. Chang was his country’s top financial official from 2005 to 2015.

Chang had pleaded not guilty to the U.S. conspiracy charges. His lawyers said he was doing as his government wished when he signed off on pledges that Mozambique would repay the loans, and that there was no evidence of a financial quid-pro-quo for him.

No sentencing date was set for Chang, 48. The charges carry the possibility of up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines for any given case can vary depending on a defendant’s history and other factors.

Between 2013 and 2016, three